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The Poorhouse Waif 

AND 

His Divine Teacher 

A TRUE STORY 

By Isabel C. Byrum 
ii 



GOSPEL TRUMPET COMPANY 

Anderson, Ind. — Kansas City, Mo. . 



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BV+5/s 



Copyright, 1919, by 
Qospel Trumpet Company 



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DEC S ! 1919 ©CI.A535997 



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PREFACE 

The good are better made by ill 
As odors crushed are sweeter still. 

— Rogers. 

The Poorhouse Waif and His Divine Teacher has not 
been written to cail attention to the noble characteristics 
of Edwin in choosing, under all circumstances and regard- 
less of consequences, to do the right, but to point the mind 
of the reader to the true source of success and happiness. 
From beginning to end the story is true, and many of the 
characters mentioned are still living. A few of the names, 
however, have been withheld, and it must be remembered 
that the manners and customs of the infirmaries of today 
are not the same as those of former days. 

Just why Edwin was permitted to undergo such trying 
scenes in his childhood we can not explain, but every 
Christian must be tested and his motives proved. When 
the purposes of the individual are to do the right, however, 
there is One who in the darkest hour supports and protects 
the soul from harm, and when the trial is over, he can, 
like Edwin, point to those scenes as stepping-stones to 
success. 

By uncovering the blush of shame in the wayward 
mother, we see how everything that has breath must, in 
some way, whether the individual wishes it or not, carry 
out God's plan and purpose; for it was from the mother's 
tongue that Edwin first learned that there is a God. 

The experiences in the home of the witch are a re- 
minder of the superstitions that were once, by many, con- 
sidered realities; and the manner in which Edwin was kept 
free from his false surroundings shows God's power to keep 
the honest heart from every evil. 

The result of humoring and making excuses for growing 
3 



4 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

children is brought out in Elmer's experiences and disgrace ; 
and the divine power and faithfulness to instruct the seek- 
ing heart are made manifest by the manner in which God 
so vividly revealed the secrets of the hidden life to Edwin, 
in helping him to understand the evils of the tobacco-habit, 
the secret and value of prayer, conversion, and the choosing 
of his life companion. 

As God directs the bird to the climate that is best adapted 
to its needs, so the poorhouse waif, by his divine Teacher, 
was inclined to take the proper course in life. Therefore 
to every lover of the pure and good this little volume is 
commended, and with the earnest wish that some may be 
strengthened, edified, or brought into the fold of Christ 
through the reading of these experiences, the author prayer- 
fully submits this little book to the world. 

Yours prayerfully and in the love of Jesus, 

Isabel C Bynun. 



CONTENTS 

Preface 3 

I The Deserted Child 7 

II Life in the Almshouse 14 

III From Bad to Worse 22 

IV Finding Friends 32 

V Suffering for the Faults of Others 39 

VI The Strange Visitor : 51 

VII Mysteries Unfolding 61 

VIII Discovers the Existence of God 70 

DC In the Home of a Witch , 80 

X A Contrast 89 

IX Searching for Light 96 

XII A Revelation on Eternity 102 

XIII Puzzled about Prayer 106 

XIV A Prayer-Meeting 115 

XV A Star of Hope 124 

XVI A Revelation on Tobacco 131 

XVII The (^nip-Meeting 140 

XVIII Discovers the Existence of God's Word 155 

XIX Devotion and Works 168 

XX Called to Service 182 

XXI Discovers God's Church 201 

XXII Visits the Poorhouse 212 



The Poorhouse Waif 



CHAPTER I 
The Deserted Child 

In this wide world the fondest and the best 
Are the most tried, most troubled, and distressed. 

— Crabbe. 

"Why, woman, you are not thinking of leaving 
that child in this place for us to look after, I hope! 
Our hands are more than full already. You say 
that the child is scarcely a month old. How do 
you suppose that we could give it a mother's care? 
More than this, the board that governs the affairs 
of this institution has given us orders to accept no 
children under seven months of age whose mothers 
are not with them. So if we should take the child, 
as you say we must, you would be obliged to remain 
for that length of time, at least, to help us care 
for it." 

It was August Engler, steward of the county 
poorhouse in one of the eastern counties of Pennsyl- 
vania during the sixties, that spoke these words, and 
the circumstance that called forth the language 
was the appearance and request of Mrs. Fischer, a 

7 



8 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

well-dressed young widow. The latter had come 
to the poorhouse with the intention of leaving her 
infant child. To this plan Mr. Engler had ob- 
jected unless she was willing to comply with the 
rules of the place. 

Mrs. Fischer, the mother of three little children, 
had recently heard that her husband, a soldier in 
the Civil War, had been killed in battle, and imme- 
diately she had gone into deep mourning as far as 
her dress was concerned. The care of her family, 
however, she felt was too great a responsibility to 
assume alone, and she had decided that the best 
thing for her to do was to give her three small chil- 
dren away and that the sooner it was done the better 
it would be. It was not hard to find homes for the 
girl and the boy, but with baby Edwin it was differ- 
ent. He was so young that nobody cared to be 
bothered with him, and although she had tried hard, 
she had not succeeded in finding him a home. 

In her perplexity she rushed to the infirmary. So 
confident had she been that it would be the duty of 
this institution to help her out that she had not 
thought of asking the privilege of leaving her baby 
as a favor. 

As steward and matron of the poorhouse, Mr. 
and Mrs. Engler did what they could to keep things 
going smoothly and in order, but the work was too 



THE DESERTED CHILD 9 

large for them to handle it properly. At that early 
date no special place except the poor farm had been 
provided for the simple and the insane; so it was 
necessary to have several buildings, both large and 
small, to provide for the needs of the people. 

In the building that was known as the poorhouse 
proper was the main office. It was here that Mrs. 
Fischer appeared. Several other rooms of import- 
ance were also in this building, such as the dining- 
room and some living-apartments, but the bakery 
and the kitchen were in a building just a short dis- 
tance away. And there was still another building, 
a large brick structure close to the main building. 
This was used for the confinement of such persons 
as the insane and the unmanageable, and the doors 
and windows, as well as the transoms, on both the 
inside and the outside were secured by iron bars. 
From these dark prison walls many strange and 
hideous sounds could be heard at any hour of the 
night or day. 

In the entire establishment the furnishings were 
scant and poor, and in every way things were vastly 
different from what we find them in the poorhouse 
of our modern times. In the main office, where Mr. 
Engler transacted his business affairs and entertained 
strangers, there was simply a rude desk, a home- 
made couch without springs or mattress, and a few 



10 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

rush-bottomed chairs. For years the walls had been 
growing darker because of the constant use of to- 
bacco by those who frequented the place. 

Had it not been that the steward and the matron 
of this home for the poor were capable persons and 
able to get considerable help out of the inmates, they 
could not have managed to keep up the place at all. 
To conceal the fact that the poorhouse was a miser- 
able place to stay would have been an impossibility. 

To the selfish mother it mattered not that the 
office within which she was standing was an index 
to the entire building. Regardless of consequences, 
she cared only to be freed from her burdens and 
responsibilities as a mother. So the answer that Mr. 
Engler gave her only stirred within her evil heart 
the anger and cruelty already there, and with a 
fiendish glare of derision toward the one who was 
endeavoring to do his duty, she took a step toward 
the hard couch and threw, rather than laid, the bun- 
dle she held in her arms upon it. An instant later 
she disappeared through the open doorway. When 
Mr. Engler recovered from his surprize and went 
to look for her, he saw her running up the road as 
fast as her feet would carry her. 

Realizing in part the seriousness of the situation, 
Mr. Engler went at once to notify his wife, and, 
leaving her in charge of the little one, he, with others, 



THE DESERTED CHILD 11 

set out to find the runaway mother. The task proved 
to be difficult. Owing to the fact that the woman 
was a stranger in the community and had gotten the 
advantage of her pursuers, it took some time to find 
her, but at last she was returned to the infirmary and 
was given orders by the authorities not to repeat the 
offense of deserting her baby. 

As the feeble-minded people at the almshouse 
sometimes caused trouble by running off, large balls 
of iron had been provided to be chained to the feet 
of such persons. Thus their progress would be hin- 
dered and their escape be less probable. Still they 
could take a part in the work that had been assigned 
them about the place. It was thought best to use 
this method of securing Mrs. Fischer. When the 
chains were fastened about her ankles, one of the 
authorities who had helped in capturing her re- 
marked, "I guess now you'll not raise your feet for 
a while as nimbly as you have been doing of late.** 

That evening Mr. Engler said to his wife: "It's 
the strangest case I ever heard tell of. Surely that 
woman has made the future of her infant son dark 
and uncertain. It doesn't seem possible that any 
mother could treat her child in such a shameful man- 
ner. I'm sure if that woman could get loose this 
minute she*d run away again, and we*ll have to 
watch her closely while she's here." 



12 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

"Did you see the baby's large brown eyes?** Mrs. 
Engler asked, as her husband ceased speaking. 
"He's certainly a nice child, and it's a shame to see 
him grow up among all these paupers; but if his 
mother doesn't care, I don't know who will." 

"Well, I don't know that it's any of our business, 
either, except to see that she takes care of him while 
she's here, and after that I guess we can manage some 
way as we always have," Mr. Engler replied. 
"You've got too much to do to take any of her 
responsibilities on your shoulders, and you must not 
try. If people will force their children on the char- 
ity of the community, they must take the conse- 
quences." 

The constant work and worry incident to caring 
for so many poor, disheartened people was indeed 
great, and Mr. Engler was right when he told his 
wife that she already had too much work to do; 
but it was very hard for her to think of the neglect 
that the poor little child would undergo even while 
its mother was there, for such a heartless woman 
could not be expected to do her duty. As the days 
and weeks glided by, it was as Mrs. Engler had 
feared, and the cruel manner in which the babe 
was handled was pitiful to behold. But scolding 
and criticizing the mother did neither the mother nor 
the child any good, and Mrs. Engler endeavored 



THE DESERTED CHILD 13 

to forget about the matter and to let the baby get 
along as well as it could. 

When at last the seven months had expired and 
the day for the departure of Mrs. Fischer had ar- 
rived, the woman who had so disgraced the name 
of motherhood was glad. The pretty costume of 
black was faded and worn, and the glossy hair was 
tangled and unkempt, but within the eye the light 
of evil was shining brighter than ever. It was indeed 
a glad moment for her when she heard the chains 
about her ankles clanking heavily upon the floor and 
she knew that she was once more a free woman 
and could go and do as she pleased. And without 
a thought for the comfort or a plan for the future of 
her helpless child, she left him to the generosity of 
the people. 

It truly might seem that the young life was 
blighted, but there was One far better than mother, 
brother, or sister who cared and was ready to lend 
a helping hand. 

"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, be- 
holding the evil and the good" (Prov. 15:3). 

"Consider the ravens : for they neither sow nor 
reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and 
God feedeth them : how much more are ye better 
than the fowls?" (Luke 12:24). 



14 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

CHAPTER II 
Life in the Almshouse 

Few save the poor feel for the poor: 

The rich know not how hard 
It is to be of needful rest 

And needful food debarred; 
They know not of the scanty meal, 

With small, pale faces round; 
No fire upon the cold, damp hearth 

When snow is on the ground. 

— Miss Landon. 

Mrs. Engler had long since given the care and 
feeding of the children over into the hands of inex- 
perienced women, who might have utterly ruined the 
delicate digestive organs had it not been that the 
food allowed was wholesome and the quantities 
too small for them to overfeed. The children, after 
being provided with pewter spoons, were seated in 
groups around large pans and were allowed to dip 
as they chose into the mixture that the pan contained. 
For a time after his mother's departure baby Edwin 
was fed from a cup, but as soon as he was able to 
handle the spoon and to toddle about the floor, 
he had to take his place with the others. Thus, 
table manners and politeness were unknown, and the 



LIFE IN THE ALMSHOUSE 15 

earliest picture stamped upon the mind of little Ed- 
win that he could in after-years remember was a 
group of boys and girls, of all ages and of whom 
he numbered one, hovering about a large dishpan, 
each eagerly watching for an opportunity to "dip*' 
for his or her share of the food. 

With the picture came a desire to be good and 
kind to all. Perhaps some Christian friend of the 
family had offered just such a prayer for him, and 
God, knowing the evil surroundings that would have 
a tendency to make him selfish or unkind, protected 
and shielded him with this very wall of kindness. At 
least God saw and understood, and he cared enough 
to help the poor little innocent, untaught boy as he 
matured from babyhood not only to be unselfish but 
to avoid doing many things that might have provoked 
others to anger. In short, God became his teacher, 
and many times while Edwin was still very young, 
when he discovered his playmates doing that which 
was evil, there was something within his heart that 
said it was wrong and that he ought not to do as 
they were doing. His ideas in regard to the right 
and wrong of different things he for a time expressed 
quite freely among the children; but, finding that 
he was only ridiculed for his pious thoughts, he 
learned to keep his views to himself. Although he 
was silent, he endeavored to keep as far away as 



16 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

possible from the scenes that troubled his finer nature. 
But not all the days were dark for Edwin. There 
were times when the children were taken for long 
walks out in the fields or woods, where the flowers 
grew and where the birds sang their sweet songs. 
Upon such occasions Edwin's heart would be so filled 
with gladness that he would be almost beside him- 
self. Not only the brown and yellow butterflies 
gliding hither and thither, lighting now and then 
upon some pretty blossom, only to soar away again 
high above his head as they discovered him ap- 
proaching, attracted his attention; but their cousins, 
the little black crickets and the green and brown 
grasshoppers, springing about him in the meadow- 
lands, made him shout aloud with delight. Not 
knowing the true names of the lively little fellows 
in the grass, he called them "jumper-men. " Some- 
times he would catch them in his hands, but he 
never thought of hurting them just for fun. And 
the turnip-patch! What a treat it was for all the 
children to pull the pretty white balls from the 
earth and to eat them, dirt and all, for it must be 
remembered that none of the children had been 
taught by their overseers to be clean and neat. It 
was too great an undertaking for Mrs. Engler to 
attend to such minor points. So the turnip just 
out of the ground was more of a luxury to Edwin 



LIFE IN THE ALMSHOUSE 17 

in his half-starved condition than candy could have 
been, and candy at the poorhouse was practically 
unknown. 

Once there was a kind old lady who came to 
stay for a short time in the home. From the first 
she seemed interested in Edwin, and, seeing his great 
desire to do the right, she endeavored to help and 
to encourage him. She had a son of her own, who 
once had been small like Edwin, and she could un- 
derstand how very hard some things were for Edwin 
to bear. 

Among the things that the lady taught him to do 
was to kneel down and with his little hands folded 
and in her lap, repeat after her the little prayer, 
"Now I lay me down to sleep." But she failed to 
tell him that it was praying or what it meant to pray. 
Neither did she explain that there was a great God 
over all, to whom he could tell all his troubles. But 
although Edwin did not know the meaning of prayer, 
there was something about the words and the repeat- 
ing of them that he enjoyed, and long after the dear 
old lady had gone away from the almshouse, the 
words seemed to bring a real comfort and satisfac- 
tion to his poor little hungry soul. 

Until the sixth year of Edwin's life he never heard 
that he had ever had a father, a mother, or a home 
other than the place in which he was then living. He 



18 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

knew only that he existed, and that from day to day 
there were many things happening about him, some 
of which he enjoyed, but a great many of which were 
distasteful to him. But all that took place he quietly 
endured, thinking that it was the best that there was 
in life for him. The fact that some were more fa- 
vored than he was caused him no jealous or covetous 
feelings. He reasoned that it was all right for them, 
but for himself it could not be. 

During the play-hours when the children were 
allowed to amuse themselves outside of the build- 
ing, Edwin soon discovered that "a soft answer 
turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up 
anger'* (Prov. 15:1). God must surely have taught 
Edwin the meaning of this proverb ; for the old lady 
did not mention it in any of her talks, and there was 
no one else in that wretched place to tell him. 

Many times the childish games were interrupted 
by the screaming and the swearing of the people in 
the insane-apartment. The timid children would 
cry out and tremble, but those who were older often 
tried to repeat the profane language. All these 
things, like many others, made deep impressions 
upon the sensitive nature of Edwin, and although 
he was not afraid, he often pondered them in his 
heart. Sometimes seated in a secluded corner he 
would watch the poor demented creatures with a 



LIFE IN THE ALMSHOUSE 19 

pitying gaze, wondering why they talked and acted 
so strangely, but whether he could or could not 
understand them, he studied the sane and the mad 
alike, and what he felt was right in the conduct of 
either he made his pattern, but the wrong he rejected. 

At times during the play-hours the children, over- 
come by hunger, would slip around to the large win- 
dow that opened into the bakery and there stand 
gazing wistfully down upon the loaves of fresh bread 
as they were taken from the large oven. Sometimes 
some crusts or stale biscuits were given them, and 
with these they would scamper away to the pump to 
moisten the bread before dividing it. It sometimes 
happened that there was not sufficient bread for 
each child to have even a bit, and when it happened 
thus, Edwin always gave his share to some one else. 
And when asked if he would like some certain thing, 
his answer was always, "If no one else wants it.** 

Because of his thoughtfulness he was often 
obliged, because of the selfishness of others, to eat 
foods that had been rejected as refuse, but in his 
heart he never complained nor felt that he had not 
acted wisely. Thus, the Golden Rule, although in 
words unknown to him, became a governing prin- 
ciple in his life. 

When the days were pleasant and warm during 
the summer months, groups of men and women often 



20 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

gathered about upon the large platform that sur- 
rounded the pump, or under the shade of an apple- 
tree, to prepare the vegetables for the table or the 
fruits for the coming winter's use. As little was 
known at that time about home canning, the fruits 
were usually dried in the sun or in the large ovens 
after the baking was done. The children loved to 
gather about the groups at work to keep close watch 
for stray bunches of berries or raw potatoes and tur- 
nips, that might be carelessly dropped. In this they 
were now and then successful, but the rounds of 
Mrs. Engler were frequent, and for several reasons 
the workers were particular that nothing be lost or 
wasted. 

Instead of horses, heavy teams of oxen were used 
for alj farming purposes. These animals, although 
faithful and trusty under ordinary circumstances, did 
not like to have children playing about their feet; 
and as there was no one to pay especial attention to 
the little ones, it sometimes happened that a child 
was either crippled or killed by the hoofs or horns 
of the powerful animals. On one occasion Edwin 
saw one of his playmates bruised and trampled in 
this way. 

These scenes, as well as the regular rounds of the 
chore-boy Jim with his water-yoke upon his shoul- 
ders, carrying either water for the home or slop for 



LIFE IN THE ALMSHOUSE 21 

the pigs, were sights that were common and in many 
cases interesting to Edwin. But from them he could 
learn practically nothing of the things that he would 
need before he could become a useful man in the 
world. Aside from a few instructions that were 
given them in hard labor, the poorhouse children 
were allowed to grow up as a flock of poorly fed 
chickens or animals. They were given their rations, 
a place to sleep, and that was about all. 

The daily routine of the almshouse from year to 
year was little changed. Some passed on to their 
reward in the beyond, but the general order of things 
remained the same. The steward and his wife were 
busy from early dawn until late at night looking after 
everything and everybody, but many of the things 
of vital importance had to be neglected for a lack 
of sufficient time and strength. 

"Better is the poor that walketh in his upright- 
ness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he 
be rich" (Prov. 28:6). 



22 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

CHAPTER III 
From Bad to Worse 

"What bliss is born of sorrow! 

Tis never sent in vain — 
The heavenly Surgeon maims to save, 

He gives no useless pain." 

—Watt. 

Something more than six years had passed since 
the departure of Mrs. Fischer from the county poor- 
house, but still the place was little changed. Mr. 
Engler was once more in the office of the institution. 
This time he was there to interview a stranger con- 
cerning the child Edwin. There was still the same 
strong odor of nicotine in the room, and the furni- 
ture and the condition of the walls and the floor still 
told of much want and wretchedness, as well as of 
habits that were unclean; but apparently as little 
heed was given to the fact by the stranger as had 
been manifested by the selfish mother. 

It seems that the word that Mrs. Fischer was re- 
ceiving generous pensions both for herself and for 
the support of her children had been carried to the 
board that governed the affairs of the poorhouse. 
Finding that none of the amount had been paid into 



FROM BAD TO WORSE 23 

that institution, orders had been issued to the effect 
that Mrs. Fischer must either pay for the support of 
her child or take him away from the almshouse. 
Having received a notice from Mr. Engler of the 
board's decision, she had decided to have him 
brought to her own home, and the stranger was no 
other than the boy's own uncle. He had come with 
horse and buggy, at the mother's request, he had 
told Mr. Engler, and he would appreciate having 
the child brought to him as quickly as possible, as 
he had no time to lose. 

"And so the heartless woman's sent for her child 
at last, has she?" Mr. Engler said in a tone that 
might have inferred several things. 

"Yes, that was her order," was the reply, and 
Mr. Engler left the room at once to bring the father- 
less and worse than motherless boy. The steward 
smiled as he thought of the contrast between Edwin 
and his uncle. The latter, a large, powerful man, 
was well-dressed and was apparently of a strong 
will, and the peculiar light within his eye and the 
hard lines about his mouth revealed the same char- 
acteristics that had been so prominent in the mother. 
Edwin, on the other hand, was small for his age 
and hollow-eyed from lack of sufficient food to 
satisfy his hunger, and his clothes were ragged and 
soiled. The honest, straightforward expression of 



24 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

the large brown eyes and the marks of refinement 
around his mouth made up, however, for what he 
otherwise lacked. 

In a room where several other children were play- 
ing Edwin was found, but he was taking no part 
in the games. In fact, many things were done by 
the children in the poorhouse day after day that he 
did not enjoy and in which he would take no part. 
If questioned he could not have explained why he 
felt as he did about their actions, but he preferred 
turning to the window, where he could look out upon 
God's creation. The little birds that had charmed 
him in his rambles had long been his friends, and as 
he gazed through an open window, he could see a 
nest full of small fuzzy heads waiting for the parent 
birds to bring them a meal of worms. Many times 
the bills had been raised and the mouths opened 
wide because of the rustling of the leaves above or 
below them, and the boy was glad when they could 
realize that their expected meal was there. 

In answer to Mr. Engler's order to come at once 
to the office, Edwin followed, but before he entered 
the room, Mrs. Engler saw to it that his clothing was 
changed, so that he would be a little more respectable 
to appear in public. 

It was evident that, when Edwin, clad in a pair of 
faded blue overalls and shirt, entered the presence of 



FROM BAD TO WORSE 25 

his uncle, the latter was greatly surprized at the 
slight figure before him, but he sought to conceal 
his thoughts and said, "Edwin, I'm your uncle and 
have come to take you home to your mother." 

Very pleasantly these words fell upon Edwin's 
ears, but he associated them with his rambles; for 
he knew nothing at all about his father or mother, 
not even that any such relation was necessary in 
life. He therefore was glad, but said nothing, for 
he knew not what to say. Mistaking the meaning 
of his silence for timidity, the uncle spoke again. 

"Come on now, boy; I am here with a horse 
and buggy to take you to your mother's home. Will 
you be glad to see your mother?" 

But again Edwin was at a loss to know what to 
say, but his thoughts were that the man before him 
was very large. It was not until his uncle said im- 
patiently, "Come along!" that he understood, and 
this command he instantly obeyed. 

A moment later the two were standing beside a 
large noble-looking brown horse that was hitched 
to an open buggy. Next he felt a pair of strong 
hands placed upon his shoulders, and then he was 
lifted high in the air to a seat that was so different 
from the bed of the old ox-wagon that he had to 
examine and rub his hand over the soft cushion. 
When his uncle took the seat beside him, everything 



26 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

about him began to move, and he thought of the 
few times when the children had been taken for rides 
behind the large team of oxen. But he had never 
been away from the poorhouse farm, and when they 
passed from the driveway on to the public highway, 
he remembered that the children had been forbidden 
to leave the place, and he wondered what it all 
meant. He was not troubled, however, for Mr. 
Engler knew of his going, and he reasoned that since 
he was not going of his own accord, it must be all 
right. 

As there was nothing else for him to do as he and 
his uncle rode along, he began to look about at the 
many interesting things. The herds in the large 
meadow-lands reminded him of the poorhouse cat- 
tle, and as he saw the little "jumper-men" skipping 
about in the tall grass, so many pleasant recollec- 
tions were brought to his mind that he laughed aloud. 
They met other horses and buggies similar to their 
own as well as covered carriages, and passed some 
horses quite like his uncle's tied to hitching-racks in 
front of houses or running about in the rich pasture- 
lands. 

The musical birds also added much to the boy's 
enjoyment when he heard them now and then sing- 
ing in some tree-top or bower, but all that he thought 
about any of the beautiful things around him was 



FROM BAD TO WORSE 27 

unexpressed and securely fastened within his little 
mind for future meditation. His small store of 
knowledge had been gained in this way, but it seemed 
to be God's method of teaching him the lessons that 
in later years would be the most useful to him. 

Occasionally he turned to look at the "big man" 
by his side, and each time beneath the poverty- 
branded garments there throbbed a heart full of the 
deepest esteem, and his desire to do his very best 
to win the confidence and friendship of his new com- 
panion was strong. This was not a new impulse in 
Edwin, for he had always endeavored to please 
every one, and in doing this he had found real pleas- 
ure. 

The afternoon was rapidly passing away, and 
as the sun sank in the western horizon, the blue sky 
above him became streaked with crimson and gold. 
Then Edwin noticed that the houses were closer 
together, but he did not know that it was because he 
was entering a village and was close to his mother's 
home. 

During the entire journey from the poorhouse the 
uncle had been silent, but suddenly Edwin saw 
the right line tightening, and in answer to the uncle's 
command, "Whoa there, Bill!" they stopped close 
beside a hitching-post. 

Without a word of explanation the uncle sprang 



28 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

lightly to the ground and after tying the horse 
grasped Edwin's shoulders and roughly placed him 
upon the ground. Again the boy's decision to en- 
deavor to please was strengthened, and when the 
uncle started toward the pretty brown house just 
inside the picket fence and repeated the words he 
had used at the poorhouse, "Come along," Edwin 
instantly obeyed. 

As they passed in through the open gateway, Ed- 
win noticed pretty flower-bushes. His uncle told him 
that it was his mother's home. As they stepped upon 
the porch, Edwin could not refrain from sniffing in 
some of the delicious fragrance of the honey-suckle 
blossoms dangling so gracefully here and there from 
the pillars of the porch, but he was hurried on. 

When they entered the house, Edwin looked 
about in amazement, for everything seemed so very 
beautiful. Then he saw a woman sitting near a 
window with a piece of sewing in her hands and 
three children — a boy about his own size, a girl, and 
a boy younger — playing on the floor. 

"This is your mother," he heard his uncle say. 

Without rising or giving the child a word of wel- 
come, the unfeeling woman said to the uncle: 

"What do you think of him?" 

"I don't know what to think," was the uncle's 
answer. "He hasn't said a word since Engler 



FROM BAD TO WORSE 29 

turned him over into my care, and I certainly tried 
hard to get something out of him. All he did until 
I told him to come along was to stare at me with 
those large brown eyes of his. While we were rid- 
ing along, though, he seemed to see everything there 
was to see, and by the way he kept smiling to him- 
self one would have supposed he was looking at a 
circus." 

Ah, could they have known the deep thoughts 
that had been passing through the childish mind even 
upon that trip, they would have understood better 
how to encourage him. With no consideration for 
the manner in which Edwin had been shut away 
from the better class of society and the proper helps 
that are usually thrown about the young, they at 
once gave him a low and degraded place in their 
estimation and pronounced him dull, stupid, and 
idiotic. All commands were given in a harsh tone 
and in such a manner that he could not comprehend 
them. 

Before going farther into the life of Edwin, it 
might be well to explain that the uncle and his three 
small children were making their home with Edwin's 
mother. The house in which they were living, al- 
though rented, contained many comforts and even 
luxuries; for the mother, aside from her pension- 
money, was being liberally paid by the uncle for 



30 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

keeping him and his family. And Edwin's ignor- 
ance, as has already been inferred, was due to his 
lack of training and to the fact that everything in 
his mother's house was so new and different from 
what he had been used to in the poorhouse. 

"Go and wash yourself and get ready for sup- 
per," he heard his mother say; but he had not been 
taught that this was necessary, and because he did 
not understand and so failed to obey, he was scolded 
and abused. 

"You worthless thing!" his mother said. "I'm 
sorry I didn't leave you at the poorhouse now and 
let you grow up with the cattle if you don't know 
enough to wash before you eat." 

When supper was ready, she ordered Edwin to 
get around behind the table in a corner where he 
would be the farthest from her, and added, "Any 
place in my home is too good for the like of you, 
and you shall stand while you eat. Do you hear?" 

Evidently Edwin understood this command, for 
he had been used to eating his meals under just such 
trying circumstances, and he went at once to the 
place assigned him. The good food upon the table 
was very tempting, and when he had eaten all that 
was on his plate, he watched the other children to 
see what they would do when more was wanted, and 
when he saw them passing plates, he did the same. 



FROM BAD TO WORSE 31 

He did not repeat this, however, for he found that 
he was not expected to share with the rest or to 
eat until his hunger was satisfied. Without a mur- 
mur he did without the dainties that were given 
freely to the other children, and with a dry crust he 
finished his meal in silence. 

When bedtime came, Edwin was given a place 
to sleep in an unused part of the house, and there 
alone in the darkness he could repeat the words that 
the kind old lady at the poorhouse had taught him. 
Then while the rats and mice played hide-and-seek 
in the room about him, his eyelids closed in peaceful 
slumber. 

We have heard that "there is nothing so bad that 
it could not have been worse." For Edwin life 
seemed to be constantly growing more serious and 
dark, but "man looketh on the outward appearance, 
but the Lord looketh upon the heart'* (1 Sam. 
16:7). 



32 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

CHAPTER IV 
Finding Friends 

Oh! ask not, hope thou not too much 

Of sympathy below; 
Few are the hearts whence one same touch 

Bids the sweet fountains flow. 

— Mrs. Hemans. 

The first morning for Edwin in his mother's home 
dawned clear and bright, and as the soft gleams of 
brilliant sunlight shone in upon the coverlet of his 
bed, he, who had been a poorhouse waif, opened his 
eyes and in bewilderment gazed about the place. 
Suddenly he remembered some of the events of the 
previous day, and especially the form of the "big 
man" and that of the "woman," who, he had been 
told, was his mother. He remembered, too, his 
decision to do all in his power to please both. 

His heavenly Father understood his heart if his 
earthly parent did not, and this all-wise guardian, 
knowing how very hard it was going to be for the 
child in this new home, enabled him to find friendship 
that was really warm and true. 

Slipping noiselessly from beneath the covers — for 
the night had been cold — Edwin went to the win- 



FINDING FRIENDS 33 

dow through which the morning sun was streaming, 
and there he saw a scene that thrilled him with de- 
light. Lying asleep upon the walk in the warmest 
spot that could be found was a large Newfound- 
land dog. Clad in his heavy coat of shaggy fur 
and surrounded by a bed of green, he was indeed a 
pleasing picture. There had been several dogs at 
the poorhouse of which Edwin had been especially 
fond, but there had been none so beautiful as the 
one upon the walk below. The bees, too, were busy 
gathering among the flowers the honey for their win- 
ter's supply, and hopping about here and there over 
the lawn were the little "jumper-men." 

As Edwin from his elevation beheld the part of 
God's creation that he had already chosen for his 
friends, his loneliness was quite forgotten. He was 
still gazing down upon the scene when his mother 
appeared in the doorway and with cruel words or- 
dered him to hasten below to the kitchen. Little 
did she know that her child was finding in the an- 
imal kingdom the friendship that she had denied 
him, and she would not have cared had she known. 

During the day and those that followed, Edwin 
endeavored in every possible way to help his mother, 
but his understanding so little about her ways and 
the names and uses of the simplest articles about the 
house seemed only to increase his troubles and hard- 



34 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

ships. And as slaps and bruises such as the dog had 
not known were his portion, the unfortunate child 
endeavored, whenever it was possible to do so, to 
hide from sight, but he always tried to be ready to 
give heed to the slightest order. But even this faith- 
fulness, as well as the fact that he had so much dif- 
ficulty in comprehending her meaning, made the 
mother still more unkind. 

One duty that was assigned him as a daily task 
was sweeping the crumbs from beneath the dining- 
table, and when he had learned how, so thoroughly 
did he do this work that he never stopped brushing 
until he had found every particle of dust or lint in 
sight that had settled under other articles of furni- 
ture. 

Another duty was carrying food to the dog, and 
he soon found that the well-filled plate of scraps 
contained far better food in many instances than he 
was allowed to share at the table. Whenever this 
happened, as it often did, and there was plenty of 
other food for the dog, Edwin ate a portion, but 
never without feeling confident that he was not rob- 
bing his friend. As the dog usually looked very 
wise, Edwin took it for granted that his motive was 
understood as right and just, and in this way the 
child was able to get some of the food that he would 
otherwise have beer denied, and the dog's allowance 



FINDING FRIENDS 35 

was still sufficient. Rather than rob the dog, he 
would always have gladly done without. 

When Edwin was given the care of his little baby 
cousin, who was just beginning to walk, he felt that 
this work was very hard indeed, but he did his best 
to understand just what was expected of him. Hav- 
ing been the youngest child at the almshouse and 
having spent so much of his time apart from the 
others, Edwin was unable to think of many ways in 
which he could amuse the little fellow, and some- 
times it seemed that all of his efforts to please had 
been in vain. 

A few weeks after Edwin's arrival in his mother's 
home the children — Edwin and his three cousins, 
Elmer, Jennie, and the baby — were playing in the 
yard with Perry the dog. Elmer, a lad scarcely a 
year younger than Edwin, was tossing a stick for the 
dog to return to him, and Edwin was astonished to 
find that his friend Perry was so very wise. The 
baby, who was in Edwin's charge, was barely able 
to keep upon his feet, but Edwin was doing his best 
to protect him from falling and to keep his eyes upon 
both the child and the dog at once. 

Suddenly above his head in a large apple-tree 
Edwin heard a rustling of the leaves and a chatter- 
ing of little birds, and he realized that his feathered 
friends had returned with a breakfast for the little 



36 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

ones. As he gazed upward endeavoring to locate 
the nest, he was just pointing to the spot when whiz 
went the stick with which Elmer had been amusing 
the group. So dangerously near to the nest did the 
missile go that Edwin, crying out with terror and 
anxiety, for the moment forgot all about his baby 
cousin. Running toward the tree as though hoping 
to protect the nest, he was just in time to see the 
stick miss the mark and then fall upon the ground 
alarmingly near the baby's foot. Although unhurt, 
the baby screamed, and a moment later Mrs. Fischer 
came rushing from the house and demanded a reason 
for the little one's crying. 

Elmer, ever willing to justify himself at any cost, 
said hurriedly: "It was all Ed's fault! I just tried 
to throw that little stick up there in the tree, and 
when it came down it struck the baby's foot. If Ed 
had been minding his work, the baby wouldn't have 
been there." But Elmer failed to tell that he was 
throwing at the little nest with the intention of knock- 
ing it out of the tree and that the stick had done no 
harm to the baby's foot. 

Accepting the explanation without any further 
details, Mrs. Fischer became furious, and, picking 
up the stick, she struck Edwin time and again upon 
the head and shoulders. Then, after calling him 
many hard and cruel names, she said, "I'll teach 



FINDING FRIENDS 37 

you how to attend to your business if there's any 
sense in you at all!'* 

After looking at the baby's foot and finding that 
there was nothing wrong with it at all, the woman, 
without a word of apology or sympathy for her suf- 
fering child, returned to the house. 

Once again when the poor boy was so much 
alone, as far as a human friend was concerned, his 
heavenly Father understood and supplied his need. 
Perry at once left his former master and, going close 
to Edwin, did all within his power to soothe the 
little sufferer, and his sympathy was as balm to the 
wounded, troubled spirit of the child. Casting aside 
his grief and reserve, he caressed the noble animal, 
and when comforted he arose and was soon able to 
care for the little child that had been placed in his 
charge. And thus the afternoon slipped slowly 
away. 

So thoroughly seasoned with bitterness and grief 
had the day been that Edwin was glad when he 
saw the shadows lengthening, for he knew that it 
would soon be dark. The sweet quiet and rest of 
the night were inviting. He thought of the pat- 
tering of tiny feet upon his coverlet and wondered 
if the rats and mice would call again. He hoped 
that they would, for they too were his friends. But 
after supper another surprize and disappointment 



38 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

was awaiting him. At bedtime he was told that 
he need not go to the attic to sleep any more, as 
there was room for him in Elmer's bed, and that 
thereafter the two would sleep in his mother's room. 
Edwin would have preferred the attic, but he sub- 
missively did as he was told, and as he slept the 
Lord kept vigil and watched tenderly over the sleep- 
ing child, for "his eye seeth every precious thing" 
(Job 28:10). 



SUFFERING FOR THE FAULTS OF OTHERS 39 

CHAPTER V 
Suffering for the Faults of Others 

In silence weep, 

And thy convulsive sorrows inward keep. 

—Prior. 

Edwin's head was still aching when he awoke 
in the morning, but he arose, dressed hurriedly, and 
hastened to the kitchen to see if his services were 
needed by his mother. There was little that he 
could do, but with brush and pan he gathered the 
dust and lint from under the various articles of fur- 
niture. It was such a comfort and satisfaction to 
Edwin to know the names of those articles, and 
their uses. 

After the meal was over, he carried the scraps 
to the dog; but as the supply was short, he did not 
help himself to a part as he did when there was 
plenty, for the golden rule was too much a part of 
his nature. When his morning duties were done, 
his mother told him to go and take care of the baby ; 
but when he went out into the yard, he could find 
no one but Perry the dog. 

For the moment Edwin forgot what his mother 
had told him to do. The eyes of his noble friend 



40 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

seemed beckoning him to the spot where he was 
lying, and Edwin obeyed. Sitting down by Perry's 
side, he buried his little face in the furry neck of 
the graceful animal, and all about him seemed to 
say: "Good morning, my boy. Cheer up, cheer 
up! Our meals you shall share and our songs you 
shall hear. ' The fact that there was no regret 
within his heart because of the lack of human friend- 
ship made it easy for him to accept the comfort and 
encouragement that was sent him through other chan- 
nels by his loving, tender heavenly Father. 

The small hand was stroking the sleek side of the 
huge animal, and the little bird-song in the tree close 
by added much to his enjoyment, and, sitting erect, 
he chirped in reply a sweet little song that he had 
learned at the poorhouse from the birds. This peace- 
ful condition, however, was too good to last. In 
a very short time he heard the voice of his mother 
asking him where his cousins had gone. 

"I haven't seen them yet," he said simply. 

"And didn't you know that I meant for you to 
hunt them up?" she exclaimed in a tone that was 
much more harsh and severe than that in which her 
other words had been spoken. Then adding, "I'll 
teach you to pay attention to what I say!" she 
picked up a board that was lying near and began 
to beat him as she had done the day before. Hoping 



SUFFERING FOR THE FAULTS OF OTHERS 41 

to escape some of the blows, the child drew closer to 
his mother, but the following instant he found himself 
tumbling head foremost toward a stone wall and 
heard the woman say, "Get away from me, you 
blockhead, or I'll dash out your brains on that stone 
wall. You are dumber than the dumb and not fit 
to live, and I wish you had never been born." 

When the awful treatment was ended, Edwin 
was lying in the grass in almost a helpless condition, 
but he was left there piteously moaning while his 
mother went to find the other children. The baby 
was in the house in his crib and was still asleep, and 
the other two children, who had been on the opposite 
side of the house at play, were standing in full view 
of the scene. Without a word of comfort for her 
suffering child, she told Elmer and Jennie to go 
quickly to her room, as she intended to take them to 
the country, and the three disappeared to prepare 
for the trip. 

It was some time before Edwin could arise, but 
at last, bruised and bleeding, he got upon his feet 
and hobbled to a place that was not quite so con- 
spicuous. There he was sitting when his mother 
came from the house. The baby, then awake and 
dressed, was sitting in its carriage, and the other 
children were by her side. Before leaving the yard, 
she called loudly for Edwin, asking where he was 



42 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

hiding, and as the child came limping toward her, 
she threw him a package, saying as she did so: 
"Here's some dinner for you and Perry. We'll 
not be back before night, but you see to it that you 
stay right here in the yard. If it rains, you can crawl 
in with the dog." Without any other information 
as to what she intended to do or where she was going, 
and without a word of sympathy, the little group 
passed through the gate and were soon out of sight. 

To be thus left alone at so tender an age with no 
other companions than nature and the dog, to some 
might seem cruel, but to Edwin life was already too 
full of varied experiences for this fact to make any 
material difference in his feelings. He did think, 
however, that it was very kind of his mother to leave 
Perry and the birds as his companions, and no bet- 
ter company could he have desired. 

The small package that Edwin had received from 
his mother was of great interest to the half-fed child. 
Knowing that it was intended for the dog as well 
as for him, he called for Perry to come, and to- 
gether they went to the place beneath the little nest 
where the scene of cruelty had occurred the day 
before. 

Opening the package, he found that the dinner 
consisted of a small piece of boiled pork, all fat, 
and a little dry bread, in all scarcely enough for 



SUFFERING FOR THE FAULTS OF OTHERS 43 

one, and yet two, one of which was a hungry dog, 
were to dine upon it. After Edwin had considered 
all this, feelings arose in his heart, but they were not 
of ingratitude or displeasure. He was anxious to 
know just how to divide the food so that each would 
receive his just portion. He concluded that since 
Perry and he were the parties concerned, Perry 
must help him to decide. 

"Perry," he said, "you are the biggest, and you 
eat much more than I do, but, Perry, you get all 
you want very often, and I never do. Now, this 
morning your plate wasn't quite as full as it is some- 
times, so I didn't take any bites. I gave it all to you, 
Perry, and I was so hungry. Don't you think that 
it would be all right now if we divided this dinner 
in halves? It would be all right with me if it would 
with you." 

The dog had been an attentive listener, and as his 
little master waited for an answer, Perry, who had 
been taught to "speak" in his dog language, an- 
swered, "You, you," and Edwin understood it as 
being his perfect consent. Still fearing that he might 
not have been perfectly understood, Edwin began 
again, "Now, Perry, are you really willing to have 
it that way, and can you trust me to divide both 
the meat and the bread?" Again the dog's "You, 
you" meant "Yes" to Edwin; so, taking the bread 



44 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

in his fingers, he proceeded to divide it as evenly as 
he could. Then he did the same with the meat, and 
their dinner was all ready. 

The next thing that puzzled them was the time 
of day and when to eat. This was also decided by 
Perry, and at last the two faithful friends began 
their scanty meal. There being no dishes, table 
manners, or napkins to bother with, the dinner was 
soon eaten, and after a little romp (for Edwin had 
quite forgotten his bruises) the two lay down together 
beneath the apple-tree. Here they were soon lulled 
to sleep by the murmuring of the wind among the 
leaves, the chirping of the birds in the branches, and 
the singing of various insects in the grass; and their 
dreams were sweet. 

When Edwin awoke the sun was high and its 
rays were streaming down directly into his eyes. 
Again he wondered where he could be, but Perry's 
cold nose against his cheek reminded him of what 
had happened before he fell asleep, and, sitting up, 
he looked around to see if he was right. Every- 
thing in the yard was just as he had seen it before 
his nap, and the empty newspaper by his side 
brought to his mind the humble lunch that had been 
given him by his mother. 

Next he gazed around at the landscape before 
him. His mother's home being in the very edge of 



SUFFERING FOR THE FAULTS OF OTHERS 45 

the village, Edwin could look for a long distance in 
one direction. But it was not the gardens nor the 
corn-fields that attracted his attention; he was con- 
sidering the sky, which was to him as a high blue 
arch, and he wished that he could know what was 
above it. 

Presently he began playing with Perry, throwing 
a stick as he had watched his cousin do the day be- 
fore. He found it great sport. Once when near 
the picket fence that surrounded the garden, he no- 
ticed some chickens near the gate scratching in the 
soft earth. After watching them for a little while, 
he saw something smooth and round lying where 
he could easily reach it, and he found that it was a 
pretty white stone with pink stripes in it. To Edwin 
it was a valuable treasure, and by searching care- 
fully he soon discovered two other stones that were 
equally pretty. A number of playthings belonging 
to his cousins were scattered about the yard, but, 
thinking that they might be displeased if he touched 
them, he let them alone. 

When he returned to the place beneath the apple- 
tree, he carefully examined each little stone in its 
turn, and he considered them very pretty indeed. 
The one with the pink stripes was so nearly round 
that it might have been mistaken for a marble; the 
next was oval in shape and was 6f a pearly white- 



46 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

ness; the third, although not quite so round as the 
first, was brown and was a very handsome little stone. 

While he was still admiring his treasures, he 
heard voices and, looking up, saw his mother and 
the children returning from their visit. A sudden 
fear that Elmer might want the stones made him 
thrust them out of sight, but he was not swift enough 
to escape the eyes of that young lad. Elmer saw the 
act and, thinking that Edwin might have discovered 
something valuable, said authoritatively : "Ed, what 
was that that you put in your pocket just now? Let 
me see it." 

Edwin hesitated, for he did not want to part with 
what seemed to him his only earthly possessions; 
but when he saw his mother's threatening look and 
heard her say, "Out with whatever you've got, Ed, 
or I'll see why! You needn't try to show any of 
your authority around here!" he said, "I haven't 
anything except these little stones that I found in 
the yard over there." Then taking the stones from 
his pocket, he handed them to his mother for inspec- 
tion. 

Finding that the stones were of no value, Mrs. 
Fischer returned them to her son, and with the two 
younger children she passed on into the house. El- 
mer, however, did not go with the rest, but sat down 
on the grass near Edwin, and. watched him closely as 



SUFFERING FOR THE FAULTS OF OTHERS 47 

he returned the little stones to his pocket. Edwin, 
although so young and seemingly ignorant along 
some lines, knew what it was to be robbed of sim- 
ilar treasures; and, noticing the same evil light in 
his cousin's eye that he had noted many times be- 
fore at the poorhouse among the children there, 
young as he was, he felt sure that, if given an op- 
portunity, Elmer would steal. He hoped that his 
cousin would forget about the stones; so he decided 
not to refer to them any more and to play with them 
only when he was alone. 

During the evening nothing unusual happened, 
and when it was time to retire for the night, Edwin 
was told that the bed that he had occupied the night 
before was to be his permanent sleeping-quarters. 
The moon was shining bright and clear, and beneath 
its silver rays the two boys crept into bed. Both 
were very still ; in fact, they were so very quiet that 
in a short time each thought the other asleep. It 
was therefore a surprize to Edwin when he felt his 
cousin creeping stealthily from the bed and out upon 
the floor where the rays of the moon were the bright- 
est. 

As Edwin had inherited from his mother a nat- 
ural love for neatness, he had already formed the 
habit of hanging his clothing upon the bedpost, and, 
turning softly in the bed, he could see from where 



48 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

he was lying, a sight that made him tremble with 
excitement. Elmer's hand was already in the pocket 
containing the treasured stones, and Edwin could 
not help exclaiming: 

"What are you doing there, Elmer? Don't take 
those stones! They are mine!" 

Elmer quickly withdrew his hand when he heard 
his cousin speak, for he did not expect to be caught ; 
but in an irritated tone a voice from the bed opposite 
the boys said: 

"Ed, what's the matter with you? Can't you let 
that boy alone? Shut your mouth I say and let him 
have those stones if he wants them, for what are 
they worth, anyway?" 

Thus rebuked, Edwin said no more; and Elmer, 
glad to have his own way, yielded to his selfish de- 
sire and, again thrusting his hand into the trousers- 
pocket, became a thief indeed. 

How sad! Edwin had early chosen the path of 
right because it was right, but Elmer was already on 
the road that leads to destruction and death ! Why? 
Because he had decided in his heart to do evil. Even 
the kind old lady at the almshouse had not entered 
his life. Was it Elmer's fault? Not altogether. 
Temptation comes to all, but with the temptation 
there is a way of escape ( 1 Cor. 10: 13). Elmer 
could have chosen to do right and leave the stones 



SUFFERING FOR THE FAULTS OF OTHERS 49 

where they belonged; but when he was caught in 
the act of stealing, Mrs. Fischer, who was responsi- 
ble for his training, should have carefully taught him 
the dangers connected with stealing. A little seed 
of dishonesty sown in the heart needs only cultiva- 
tion to help it to grow. 

The following morning when Edwin's tasks in 
the house were completed, he was told to go out- 
side to look after the baby, and here it was that he 
recalled Elmer's act. After making sure that the 
stones were not in his pocket, Edwin went over to 
that part of the yard in which his cousin was playing, 
and as their eyes met he said : 

"Elmer, why did you steal my stones last night? 
I want them back." 

"I haven't got anything that belongs to you, and 
I didn't steal your stones," Elmer almost shouted; 
and, running to Mrs. Fischer, he said excitedly, "Ed 
called me a thief and said I stole those stones out 
of his pocket last night." 

"I'll teach him to call you a thief!" the woman 
exclaimed in an exasperated tone and ran toward 
her son with a club and began using it freely upon 
him, saying as she did so : "Ed, you wretched child ! 
Is that all you've learned at the poorhouse? What 
are those little old stones good for, anyway? And 



50 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

to think you'd dare to accuse Elmer of stealing 
them!" 

The heating that Edwin received was far worse 
than the one given him the day before, and in the 
evening when he laid his little tired and aching body 
upon the bed beside his cousin, he wondered why he 
was forced to suffer and bear the punishment that 
rightfully belonged to some one else, but he did not 
complain or feel unkindly toward those who justly 
deserved the blame. 

When at last he fell asleep, God sent angels 
to minister to the needs of the little forlorn child, and 
they cared for him tenderly while he slept. 

"When my father and my mother forsake me, 
then the Lord will take me up" (Psa. 27:10). 

"But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as 
a thief, or as an evil-doer" (1 Pet. 4: 15). 



THE STRANGE VISITOR 31 

CHAPTER VI 
The Strange Visitor 

How shall I ever go through this rough world! 
How find me older every setting sun! 
How merge my boyish heart in manliness! 

— Coxe. 

The little seed that had been planted in Elmer's 
heart was not long in sending forth a sturdy sprout; 
for it was in fertile soil, and there was nothing to 
hinder rapid growth. Not only did he continue to 
watch Edwin's pockets for coveted articles like the 
stones, but from the match-safe in the kitchen to the 
purse of Mrs. Fischer in the bureau-drawer he stole 
frequently. Nor did it stop with this. At the vil- 
lage grocery he often slipped behind the counter and 
took articles for which he did not pay, and finally 
he visited the combination money-drawer. 

Of much of Elmer's dishonesty Edwin was 
aware; but, feeling that his mother would believe 
no report about his cousin that he might bring, and 
dreading her punishments for tattling, he kept all 
such knowledge to himself. Even when blamed and 
abused for the things that Elmer had done, he bore 



52 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

it patiently, unless questioned ; then he told the truth 
and took the consequences, usually a beating. 

Elmer, on the other hand, while endeavoring to 
cover up his misdeeds, told lie after lie, and when 
accused and blamed by the grocer and others, he 
was screened and helped out of his difficulties by 
Mrs. Fischer. 

When Edwin was about ten years of age, his 
mother moved from the village in which she had 
been living to a farm among the foothills of the Alle- 
ghany Mountains. Here it was that Edwin for 
the first time saw an outline of the wonderful Blue 
Mountain of which he had at Christmas time heard 
many weird and frightful legends. Blue Mountain 
was one of the tall mountain-peaks that stood out a 
little apart from the main ridge and was known 
among the people as the home of St. Nicholas and 
his elves. Strange stories were connected with the 
place, and all who believed them were full of super- 
stition and awe. 

It was reported that during the year St. Nick, 
as he was commonly called, was busy manufacturing 
and preparing wonderful toys to be distributed 
throughout the country among the children who were 
deserving. In order to know to whom the presents 
were to go, he sent out his elves into the homes to 
take an inventory of the lives of the children. These 



THE STRANGE VISITOR 53 

reports were to be returned just before Christmas 
eve so that he could use them as a guide in distribut- 
ing his gifts. For all the children who were not en- 
titled to presents tortures of many kinds were in- 
vented. These were to be inflicted when the annual 
tours were made. 

All this and much more Edwin had heard in his 
former home at each Christmas-tide, and as the tor- 
tures had always been his lot, he did not like to think 
about the great mountain any more than he could 
help. It was little wonder that he felt this dread, 
for to him St. Nick was a fierce and terrible mon- 
ster. But it was a great mystery to him why St. Nick 
had never found out about Elmer's misdeeds. 

Even at the age of ten Edwin was very small, 
and his ignorance concerning the ordinary things 
of life was really painful. A dread of not being 
understood seemed constantly to hover over him, and 
as he had been taught to feel himself inferior and in 
the way, there was no opportunity for him to im- 
prove. When company came to the house, he was 
ordered to remain in the kitchen or in the yard, but 
never in hearing-distance, and he was always too 
busy to visit had he been permitted to do so. A few 
times he had been sent to school to help the smaller 
children through the snow or mud, but it was only 



54 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

occasionally and with no explanation as to the mean- 
ing of school or the value of learning. 

Once the teacher sent word to Mrs. Fischer that 
if she cared to have her son learn to read she must 
supply him with a primer. Before doing as the 
teacher had told her, Mrs. Fischer took up a primer 
belonging to one of the other children, turned to a 
lesson well over in the book, and commanded E^win 
to read the paragraph to which she was pointing. 
Seeing that he was unable to tell one letter from an- 
other, she shouted at him: "Ed, you blockhead! 
there is no use for you to try to learn anything, and 
I will never spend any money for books to help you 
to disgrace me any more.'* Then so great was her 
cruelty that the child fell prostrate at her feet in a 
swoon. But even this did not cause the heartless 
mother to be sorry for what she was doing to her 
child. Almost before he had recovered from the 
effects of this severe punishment, she ordered him, 
if he knew anything at all, to tell her the time of day. 
When he could not do this, he was again mistreated. 

Shut away as he had been from the society of 
every one who could have helped him, he was, of 
course, unable to unravel the untruth that had been 
related to him about Blue Mountain; and when 
told that the time for St. Nick to pay them another 



THE STRANGE VISITOR 55 

visit was drawing near, he looked upon the event 
with increasing dread. 

"No good thing, Ed, can you expect this year 
on Christmas eve,'* he heard Elmer say a few days 
before that eventful night. "He never has remem- 
bered you with any good, and I don't think he ever 
will." 

Yes, Edwin knew all about the neglect. He 
remembered, too, that he had been told that upon 
Christmas eve, instead of going to bed, he must sit 
before the fireplace upon a certain chair in the sitting- 
room to await the arrival of St. Nick. Perfect 
obedience being so impressed upon his mind, Edwin 
obeyed, but imagined many things, one of which 
was that instant death would follow any refusal to 
do the bidding of St. Nick. Therefore when the 
appointed time arrived, Edwin was ready and seated 
in his chair even before the remainder of the family 
had retired. Then, while his cousins were thinking 
of the happiness the morrow held in store for them, 
and the children in other homes were dreaming of 
the sweet stories to which they had listened con- 
cerning the Christ-child and God's great love in 
sending his only Son as a Christmas gift to all the 
world, Edwin heard a sound in the yard as of heavy 
tramping. Then the lashing of a whip upon the 
window-pane and house caused him to spring from 



56 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

his chair and seek for a corner in which to hide. 
Presently he again heard the lashing upon another 
window-pane, followed by a fierce blow upon the 
kitchen-door, which had been purposely left ajar, 
and he saw the door fly open and beheld an object 
so completely hideous that he was more frightened 
than he had been upon any previous occasion. 

There, clad in a pair of old trousers that were 
partly covered by a short petticoat, and wearing a 
bright red blouse elaborately trimmed with white 
cotton batting in imitation of white fur, a sunbonnet 
of faded blue, and a false face in the form of a 
mule's head, stood the object posing himself as St. 
Nicholas. 

One glance at the frightful creature with the 
long whip in his hand would have been sufficient to 
strike terror through the heart of a more enlightened 
mind, and Edwin, with the remembrance of the 
suffering of previous years still fresh in his mind, was 
under a mental strain that was fearful indeed. 

The strange form, pretending not to notice Edwin, 
laid down his whip and began loosening the large 
pack of toys that were upon his shoulders. As the 
sack was laid down in front of the old fireplace, a 
rubber ball rolled out upon the rug, whereupon Ed- 
win heard him say in a gruff tone: 

"Now, if that hain't a mess! Guess I've come off 



THE STRANGE VISITOR 57 

without that there list, after all. Thought those 
little imps wasn't going to get it in, and when they 
did" — here he pulled out a long strip of paper that 
appeared to have writing upon it and from which 
he began reading the names of the children and the 
presents that each one was to receive. 

As Edwin saw the costly gifts that were one by 
one taken from the sack, there seemed to be nothing 
lacking and plenty for him to have at least one toy, 
but his name was not called. There was a hobby- 
horse, a top, a horn, a ball, a wagon, a doll, dishes, 
a rocker, candy, and nuts. A sudden longing came 
into his heart to be remembered. 

As if divining Edwin's thoughts, the monster, 
who was the child's own uncle disguised, turned 
suddenly and, facing Edwin, said : 

"Now, sir, I'll become acquainted with you ! I'm 
the person that some folks call Santa Claus, but by 
others I'm known as St. Nick. To you, Edwin, 
I shall be St. Nick, and I want to say that if you 
touch any of these things that I have placed here 
for your cousins, you'll find out what Old Nick can 
do." Then with a wave of his hand he said, "Come 
on out here now before I leave to go to another 
home. I want you to look at each of these things, 
so that you will know just what they are like, and 



58 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

then you see to it that you keep your stupid hands 
forever off!" 

In obedience to the commanding voice of the 
frightful being, Edwin went breathlessly forward 
and listened to the words: 

"Do you see that horse? Well, that's Elmer's, 
and because he has been such a good boy he shall 
have the ball and the top. The other things are for 
his sister and brother. Now that you have seen these 
nice things that are for good children, I want to 
show you the part that is to be yours, but you will 
have to go out in the kitchen to see it." 

On the way to the kitchen Old Nick, who had 
taken up his whip, flourished it to hurry the child 
along, saying as he did so, "Now, you little gump, 
here's your treat." Then he threw a few nuts upon 
the kitchen-floor and ordered Edwin to hurry and 
pick them up. As the child obeyed, down came the 
lash of the whip upon his fingers, and the blood be- 
gan at once to ooze from the deep gashes. When 
the hand was withdrawn, the lash fell upon his body. 
Next he was told to dance and then to sing and at 
last to pray. As he each time tried to obey, the 
whip was used upon him. The dance and the song 
were both very crude, but the prayer was the words 
that he had learned from the old lady at the alms- 
house. Those words Edwin felt were appropriate 



THE STRANGE VISITOR 59 

because Old Nick had knelt beside a chair when 
explaining what he wanted him to do, and he re- 
membered that he had knelt thus at the old lady's 
knee. But before the list of terrible tortures was 
exhausted, Edwin could stand no more. Weak- 
ened by the loss of blood from his wounds and by 
the extreme fear, he fell as though dead. 

How long he was there or what happened after he 
had fainted Edwin could never tell, but when he 
became conscious, he was alone and the room was 
cold. Painfully he arose and by the aid of the 
lamp that was still burning low, he crept away to 
his bed, which was fortunately very close to the 
kitchen. 

As the sun arose in the eastern sky, it cast its 
bright rays upon the snow-covered ground around 
the home of Mrs. Fischer and caused a dazzling 
brightness, but it did not erase the many footprints 
that had been made the evening before by the sup- 
posed St. Nicholas, nor was it sufficient to soothe the 
poor little aching head of the unfortunate Edwin. 

Edwin had been in bed but a few hours when he 
heard the children's voices. He listened to their re- 
marks as they examined in turn the beautiful gifts, 
and then — was it possible? He thought he heard 
the youngest child in a tone of disappointment say- 
ing, "Why, where are Eld's stocking and things? 



60 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

Didn't he get anything at all?** The answer from 
Elmer was spoken differently. "No, hush!** he 
said. "Ed hasn't anything here. Santa Claus, you 
know, doesn't bring gifts to every one. There are 
only certain people who are allowed presents.'* 

Then Edwin heard his cousin explaining the story 
of Blue Mountain and St. Nicholas as he had often 
heard it before; but when his cousin said, "The 
reason that Ed wasn't remembered is because he 
does so many bad things," Edwin wondered again 
what kind of report the elves had carried concerning 
the pebbles and the other things that Elmer had 
taken dishonestly and what explanation they had 
given regarding the lies. But there was seemingly 
no way for Edwin to know these things. His store- 
house of knowledge was apparently closed, but still 
he was not discouraged in well-doing nor was he 
tempted to do evil. Like Job, he could have said: 
"Thou knowest that I am not wicked ... I am full 
of confusion . . . Even when I remember I am afraid, 
and trembling taketh hold on my flesh" (Job 10:7, 
15; 21:6). 



MYSTERIES UNFOLDING 61 

CHAPTER VII 
Mysteries Unfolding 

The brave are ever tender, 

And feel the miseries of suffering virtue. 

— Martyn. 

Hedged about by such walls of difficulty, Edwin 
seemed to be shut entirely away in a little world 
that was all his own. As he had no one to help him 
to understand the every-day happenings about him, 
it was not strange that the mysteries of nature were 
hidden as well. Shunned and abused as he was, 
even curiosity was almost of no avail. But although 
he knew it not, the all-seeing Eye was watching 
over him and angels were rejoicing over the manner 
in which he was laying a foundation for a strong and 
noble Christian character. 

Edwin's holding no revenge in his heart toward 
those who had so repeatedly wronged him made it 
easier, in a way, for him to endure his hardships. 
And by constantly being watchful and on his guard, 
he was many times able to improve little opportuni- 
ties to assist either his mother or his uncle, and in 
this way he sometimes evaded punishments that he 
would have otherwise received. His always being 



62 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

on the alert made it easier for him to become familiar 
with the names of various things that he could not 
have otherwise known. To gain any knowledge at 
all was indeed a pleasure, and it enabled him to 
escape so much unjust abuse. 

As his love for doing good increased, so also his 
admiration for and interest in the things of nature 
and that which was strange and mysterious were 
deepened. He often wondered about the blue arch 
above his head, and, supposing it to be an upper 
story to the earth, believed it to be inhabited by 
a family similar to St. Nick and his elves. He often 
tried to imagine what kind of man this being could 
be and wondered whether in any way he resembled 
St. Nick. 

In electrical storms he supposed that the man must 
be very angry and that the sounds and flashes were 
the result of throwing or rolling heavy or combusti- 
ble articles of furniture as he had so repeatedly 
known his mother and uncle to do. As such a view 
of life was all that he knew, it was not strange that 
he could make no better comparison. 

Occasionally he noticed his uncle and Elmer 
throwing stones high up in the air, and sometimes 
when the stones went too high to be followed by the 
naked eye, he supposed that they pierced the arch 
and lodged on the other side. 



MYSTERIES UNFOLDING 63 

The fact that while he was at the poorhouse a few 
persons had died and been buried in the ground was 
still fresh in his memory, and from the oaths and 
unkind language of his mother he had come to the 
conclusion that all must die and be buried in the 
same manner. What became of them after death 
he could not fathom, but he concluded that the frost 
in the winter-time was a sort of cold vapor arising 
from the bodies of those who were dead and that 
such things were all governed by the great man 
above the arch. 

In the village where his mother had lived, very 
little attention was given to family quarrels or to the 
troubles of children, but in this new neighborhood it 
was different. A dear old couple by the name of 
Hahn, living very close, soon became greatly inter- 
ested in the child Edwin. Many times they listened 
with deepest sympathy to his cries of agony and 
terror, knowing that his cries were caused by cruel 
blows or kicks. Then when the little fellow, all 
bleeding and bruised, would be discovered hobbling 
about and endeavoring to comprehend what was 
expected of him that he might the more perfectly 
perform the task that had been assigned him, their 
hearts were filled with indignation and pity. 

"I don't see how it is," said Mrs. Hahn one day 
to her husband at the close of the midday meal. 



64 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

"Now, that Mrs. Fischer seems in some ways to be 
a pretty good sort of woman, but when she speaks 
to her son, she acts like Satan himself. Only yes- 
terday I saw her out cleaning up the yard, and she 
seemed quite good-natured until she discovered Ed 
coming out to help her. Then, without telling him 
where to get it, she told him to hustle around and find 
her a picket, for she wanted to fix the fence. I saw 
right away that he didn't know what a picket was, 
but I wanted to see what he would do. He didn't 
ask. Instead he ran around the house looking in 
every direction and came back to tell her that he 
couldn't find any. Then, in a tone that she would 
not have used for the dog she yelled at him that it 
was of no use to expect an idiot like him to find 
anything. Next she went to a pile of pickets that 
was near the barn and easily got herself what she 
was wanting. Still she didn't explain anything to 
Edwin, but I could see that the boy knew then what 
a 'picket' looked like. 

"Now, Pa, I'll tell you what I'd like to do. 
Since his mother acts toward him as she does, I'd 
like to ask him over here whenever he can come, 
just as though he were coming to help us, you know, 
and then we could tell him about many of these 
things that he doesn't know. Perhaps if he knew 



MYSTERIES UNFOLDING 65 

better what they meant, it would not be so hard for 
him, and he would escape some of the abuse." 

"That's a bright idea, my good little wife," said 
Mr. Hahn smiling his approval. "I believe that we 
ought to help the boy all that we can, for he's sure 
having a hard time of it. Do what you think is 
best, but be careful not to let Mrs. Fischer think you 
want to help her son, or all your plans will be upset. 
She doesn't care what becomes of the boy, and I 
think she would be glad to see him die, but doesn't 
dare to be the one to end his life. But she'll do it 
if she keeps on as she is going." 

"Well, with your consent I'll do what I can," 
replied Mrs. Hahn, and with a relieved expression 
she hastened to make some plans that were to 
amount very much to Edwin. 

Mrs. Fischer graciously consented to let her son 
go to help the old couple now and then, "but," she 
added, "you*ll soon find that he's no good to any- 
body. I find him lots more bother than he's worth." 

"I'll risk that part of it," Mrs. Hahn answered, 
and from that day a great change came into the poor 
boy's life. 

In the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hahn, Edwin was 
still very timid, but they were so kind and consider- 
ate that his intense fear gradually gave way to con- 
fidence and trust. It seemed that his new friends 



66 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

were never vexed because of his extreme ignorance. 
Instead of reproaching him for what he did not know 
or understand, they took extra pains to explain their 
meaning in the simplest language possible. To Ed- 
win the explanation of the most trifling every-day 
occurrences seemed wonderful, and to the unenlight- 
ened child it opened up many avenues for thought 
that had hitherto been closed. Never once while 
he was with them did they seem to grow weary of 
trying to make things more simple and plain for the 
inquiring child. 

The more Edwin associated with these friends, 
the more he began to understand how he had been 
wronged; for many questions concerning the earth, 
the sky, and himself were corrected. In explaining 
about St. Nick, Mr. Hahn said: 

"Edwin, that terrible creature that treated you so 
shamefully on Christmas eve was not St. Nicholas 
at all. It was your uncle, who had, with the con- 
sent of your mother, dressed himself in the hideous 
clothing in which he appeared to you. He must 
have wanted to see just how much he could deceive 
and frighten you.'* 

"But how about his home in Blue Mountain?*' 
Edwin asked in amazement. "If Santa Claus 
doesn't make the toys up there, where does he make 
them?" 



MYSTERIES UNFOLDING 67 

"Edwin, don't you believe those stories any 
longer," Mr. Hahn answered. "Your uncle bought 
from a store in the city of M — all those presents 
that he gave to his children. The stories that he 
told you about the elves visiting the homes to dis- 
cover who were bad are untrue. I know it seems 
very strange to you, but what is the most difficult 
for me to understand is how your mother and uncle 
could find pleasure in frightening and deceiving you 
in such a way." 

"Well, if Blue Mountain isn't the home of St. 
Nick, what is it?" Edwin asked in a mystified tone. 

Then in very simple words Edwin heard for the 
first time the real facts regarding the great mountain 
that had until then been as an awful nightmare to 
the unenlightened boy. Pointing away toward the 
line of blue and white domes and peaks that grew 
more and more faint as they faded away in the dis- 
tance, Mr. Hahn explained that they were only 
high parts of the earth. "Blue Mountain," he said, 
"is only one part of the range, and those dark places 
that you see on its sides are just trees and bushes 
such as grow right here in our yard. Then there 
are large rocks, some of them the size of this house, 
and springs of water where many animals and birds 
may drink. And in some places there are large 
flower-gardens, where the flowers grow without the 



68 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

use of the spade or the hoe. I would certainly like 
to take you to see the mountain, Edwin, if it were 
not so far away, but it would take us too long to go 
and come, for it is very much farther away than it 
seems." 

Reasons were given also for the strange noises 
that Edwin had attributed to the rolling of heavy 
articles of furniture, and the names sky, thunder, and 
lightning were rightly applied. But with all their 
information, Mr. and Mrs. Hahn gave no hint that 
there was a great and supreme Being over all, one 
who had created all the wonders that they had been 
describing, for they were not Christian people and 
were not acquainted with the love of God. They 
were greatly interested in the things that pertain to 
this life, but seemed unconcerned about heaven, 
eternity, and the Bible. So Edwin continued to 
believe that some great man who had died and left 
the earth was living above the blue arch and that 
the electrical storms were in some way the result of 
fireside quarrels and confusion. 

To Edwin it seemed that every moment that he 
from time to time spent with these kind friends was 
precious indeed, but the effect upon the mother was 
not what Mrs. Hahn had desired. Finding that her 
son could understand more about the work, she be- 
came more particular and increased his tasks ac- 



MYSTERIES UNFOLDING 69 

cordingly until it seemed that he could do nothing to 
suit her. Poor nervous child ! if only he could have 
known the words of the Psalmist, what a comfort 
they would have been — "He shall deliver the needy 
. . . and precious shall their blood be in his sight*' 
(Psa. 72:12, 14). 



70 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

CHAPTER VIII 
Discovers the Existence of God 

Where'er thou art, He is; the eternal mind 
Acts through all places; is to none confined; 
Fills ocean, earth and air and all above, 
And through the universal mass does move. 

— Dryden. 

Mrs. Fischer may have felt that her neighborswere 
learning too much about her family matters and busi- 
ness affairs, and it may have been for other reasons 
best known to herself, but she soon became dissatis- 
fied with the farm and thought best to move away 
to another part of the country. The place decided 
upon was near a public highway where there was an 
extra building that could be used by the uncle as a 
blacksmith-shop, and there was also a good barn, 
where the horse, cow, and chickens could be kept. 

When Mrs. Hahn heard of her neighbor's plans, 
she was sorry, for she had become very much at- 
tached to Edwin and did not like to see him go so far 
away from her home. She therefore decided to ask 
Mrs. Fischer to allow the boy to stay through the 
summer months with them in their home. "He could 



DISCOVERS THE EXISTENCE OF GOD 71 

do lots of little light things that would be a great 
help to husband and me," she said. 

"Well, I can't see why you are taking such an 
interest in that boy," the mother replied. "Now, if 
he were bright like Elmer, I wouldn't be surprized, 
but Ed is such a blockhead. You can have him, 
though, if you can make any use of him, but I'm 
sure that you will very soon be sick of your bargain." 

Mrs. Hahn assured the mother they were willing 
to run the risk, and it was decided that Edwin 
should stay with the Hahns for a while. So it hap- 
pened that Edwin saw his people pack their goods 
and drive away from the farm leaving him behind. 
To be left in the care of the old couple whom he 
was learning to love so dearly was indeed a happy 
change, but how great it was none but him and his 
heavenly Father could understand. Surrounded as 
he was in this home by kind friends, provided good 
food, and enabled to think happy thoughts, he soon 
grew well and strong and was able to do all the 
work that could be expected of any eleven-year-old 
boy. 

In the new home of Mrs. Fischer things went 
along seemingly well enough for a time, but as 
Elmer continued his underhanded work of taking 
things that did not belong to him, he became more 



72 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

and more bold, and Mrs. Fischer, not having Edwin 
to blame, was forced to see some of his faults. 

One day shortly after the family were settled in 
their new home, word that the barn was on fire rang 
out loud and clear, and a smell of burning wood and 
hay and clouds of smoke filled the air. Rushing to 
the door, Mrs. Fischer saw that the barn was 
wrapped in flames. With a scream for help she 
ran out into the yard, where she discovered the 
uncle and several others endeavoring to deaden the 
flames, but their efforts seemed all in vain. 

It was too late to save the barn, so the attention 
of all was turned to the house and other buildings. 
As the wind was in their favor, no other building 
besides the barn was lost, and fortunately the dis- 
aster had occurred in the daytime, when the animals 
and chickens were out in the lot, so that the damage 
was not so great. 

When the excitement had somewhat subsided, 
and Mrs. Fischer looked about for some one to 
blame for carelessness, she found that Edwin was 
not there and that Elmer was the guilty person. 
Having repeatedly watched his father smoking a 
pipe or a cigar, Elmer had decided that it was time 
for him to learn to smoke if he ever expected to ap- 
pear like a man. Accordingly, with a few stolen 
matches in his pocket and some corn-stalks cut into 



DISCOVERS THE EXISTENCE OF GOD 73 

cigar-lengths, he had gone to a place back of the 
barn for his first lesson. He had not intended to 
have his actions upon this particular occasion known, 
because both his father and Mrs. Fischer had seemed 
to be against his learning to smoke so young. But 
through the fire, caused by the dropping of burning 
matches among the litter at his feet, and the testi- 
mony of his little brother, who had been present, his 
guilt became known. 

Although Mrs. Fischer knew that Elmer deserved 
correction for this deed, she simply smoothed the 
matter over and allowed it to pass by unnoticed. 
But when the news of the burning of the barn 
reached the ears of Mrs. Hahn, she said: "Edwin, 
you should be very thankful that you were not there. 
Had you been, Elmer would no doubt have laid the 
blame on you, and in her fury your mother might 
have thrown you into the flames.'* Edwin under- 
stood that what Mrs. Hahn had said could very 
easily have been true, and he was very glad that he 
had not been present when the barn was burned. 

His life in this new home was so different in every 
way from what it had been in his mother's and he 
was so happy and content that he had no desire to 
return. He was therefore very sad when he was 
told in the fall that the farm was sold and that as 
his old friends would go to the city to live with their 



74 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

children, it would be necessary for him to return to 
his mother. 

"I'm very sorry," Mrs. Hahn said, "that you 
must leave us; but, Edwin, I believe that your 
mother will be more kind to you, because you have 
learned how to do so many things and can do your 
work so well. I will see that Mr. Hahn goes with 
you and will have him explain to your mother what 
you can do, and when she sees that you can learn 
when you are taught and can do the things that she 
expects of you, we shall hope that she will have more 
patience with you than she has had in the past.'* 

Thus it was that one day late in the fall as the sun 
was slowly sinking down into a bed of crimson and 
gold, Mr. Hahn and Edwin drove up to the place 
of which they had both heard but only Mr. Hahn 
had seen. If Edwin had expected to find a pile of 
rubbish to be cleared away where the ruins of a barn 
was resting, he was mistaken; for the owner of the 
property had attended to that, and a new building 
had been erected upon the old foundation, and 
everything else was neat and clean. 

"Well, Mr. Hahn," Mrs. Fischer began in an- 
swer to the announcement that her son had arrived, 
"I suppose you are very glad to be rid of your 
charge. I'm afraid he has made you lots of trouble." 

"Oh, no, Mrs. Fischer," Mr. Hahn replied, "we 



DISCOVERS THE EXISTENCE OF GOD 75 

got along just fine ! I have no fault whatever to find 
with your son. He is as good-hearted and faithful 
a boy about his work as I have ever seen, and if we 
were not going to leave the farm, I wouldn't think of 
bringing him back. I think you have misunderstood 
Edwin; for he seems so very anxious to learn and 
asks so many questions about everything that I have 
found it hard to find enough answers for them all. 
Then, when he has once learned a thing, he never 
forgets it, and he seems to want to put every bit of 
his knowledge into use. I'm sure your fears about 
his being dull are groundless, but he does need to 
be taught, and you will do well to give him a fair 
chance along with the other children." 

After making a few other remarks and giving 
Edwin the promise, "If I ever return to the farm 
again, I will let you know and will take you back 
again," Mr. Hahn said, "Good-by," and Edwin 
was left behind to begin again the kind of life that 
had been so hard and bitter. The kindnesses shown 
him during the summer and the greater keenness of 
his judgment and understanding made the renewal 
of past cruelties even harder to bear than they had 
been before. 

After Edwin's home-coming Elmer and the other 
children found more time to shirk, and, seeing his 
eagerness and ability to do so many things that he 



76 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

had not before understood, the family forced the 
poor little tired form to work far beyond its strength. 
But without complaint Edwin strove to do all the 
work assigned to him and to make every move count 
so that he would be able to accomplish more than 
that if possible, but on every hand only failure and 
unhappiness seemed to be awaiting him. 

Late in November, one evening just before time 
to do the milking, Mrs. Fischer, while in a terrible 
fit of anger because of some little mistake of Ed- 
win's hardly worth the mentioning, ordered him to 
go out in the yard and bring her a good strong stick 
and to hurry. And Edwin, though knowing that 
the stick was to be used upon himself, went to an 
apple-tree and cut from it a good strong branch. 
Even under such extreme circumstances he was de- 
termined to do his best. As he handed the stick to 
his mother, she clutched it and with a fiendish ex- 
pression she beat her son so cruelly that he fell upon 
the floor. Then with her foot she kicked him about 
the room until the blood was flowing freely from 
various wounds and gashes made by her shoe and 
the stick. 

The condition of the room and the helpless state 
of the child seemed to enable the wicked woman at 
last to realize what she was doing, and, fearful lest 
some one discover him thus, she ceased her cruelties 



DISCOVERS THE EXISTENCE OF GOD 77 

and commanded Edwin to get up and clean the 
room. Then, without waiting to be sure that he 
could do so, she went out to the barn to milk the 
cow. 

Edwin, in almost an unconscious state, realized 
at last that he was in the kitchen alone, and he en- 
deavored to arise, but there seemed to be a pain in 
every part of his body, and he was lying in a pool 
of blood. After a great effort he managed to reach 
the sink, but it was some time before he could stop 
the flow of blood from his mouth. Looking at him- 
self in the glass, he saw that a portion of his lip was 
cut and loosely hanging so that the teeth behind it 
were exposed, and the blood was still running from 
his mouth. Until then, though he would not have 
known how to express the thought, he had never 
ceased to hope that in some way or other he would 
be abfe to wm his mother's love and confidence^ but 
with this tetnble outbreak of passion all desire to try 
to live seemed to vanish. 

After doing what he could to cover up his mother's 
cruel conduct, he staggered through the open door 
and down the walk that led to the barn. He was 
intending to do what he could to help with the eve- 
ning work, but he could not suppress the sobs that 
were welling up from his poor troubled and wounded 
heart. Only hardships and discouragements seemed 



78 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

to be his portion, and without considering who was 
liable to hear him, he cried out in his anguish : 

"If such is the best that a person can have in life, 
it would be better for him not to live at all." 

As the cry of distress floated in through the partly 
open stable-door, Mrs. Fischer was filled with won- 
der. Never before had she heard her son speak so 
sensibly, and, hastening to see what it all meant, she 
said: "Ah, Ed! I heard you speak, and this time 
your words were not those of an idiot, but wise and 
full of reason. But how dare you wish yourself 
dead? Don't you know that there is a God over 
us who hears every word we say?" Then she 
added, "Why is it on such things you can talk 
so well and on others you seem so dull?" 

At the sight of his mother's face and the sound 
of her words, two thoughts flashed through his 
mind: "Have I done anything to displease her?" 
and "Is there really some powerful being by the 
name of God above me in the sky?" Instantly a 
feeling of awe and reverence filled his soul, and 
something within him told him that this great Being 
who could hear all that he said must be more than 
a common man. The very thought that God could 
hear him speak made Him seem strangely near. 

As he continued to think, his troubles seemed to 
vanish and the suffering from his wounds became 



DISCOVERS THE EXISTENCE OF GOD 79 

less intense. Then he remembered that the name of 
God had been used many times by his mother, 
uncle, and the children in ways that he was sure 
were wrong. If God could hear everything, what 
must he think of the people who would talk about 
him thus? He wondered, too, why Mr. Hahn had 
not mentioned the name of God when explaining 
the reasons for the sounds above the sky, or "high 
blue arch," as he had called it. Poor untaught 
child! God alone could be his teacher. 

"Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwell- 
eth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the 
things that are in heaven, and in earth! He raiseth 
up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy 
out of the dunghill ; that he may set him with princes, 
even with the princes of his people" (Psa. 1 1 3 :5-8) . 



80 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

CHAPTER IX 
In the Home of a Witch 

A mother's love — how sweet the name! 

What is a mother's love? 
A noble, pure, and tender flame. 

Enkindled from above, 
To bless a heart of earthly mold; 
The warmest love that can grow cold; 

This is a mother's love. 

— Montgomery. 

Yes, this is the nature of a true mother's love, but 
such love poor Edwin had never known. At the 
age of fourteen the unwelcome child felt that there 
was nothing in life for him except that which was 
hard and unreasonable. The things that he had 
learned from his kind friends, Mr. and Mrs. Hahn 
concerning nature often helped him to forget his 
sorrows, and the fact gained from his mother, that 
God's eyes were ever upon him, beholding his ac- 
tions all the time, was a constant source of comfort 
and satisfaction, for he was sure that he was always 
trying to do his best. 

"If I do as well as I can, God will surely know 
and care," he reasoned. Thus, his Creator filled a 
place m Ae lonely life that had never known a. 



IN THE HOME OF A WITCH 81 

father's or mother's love. And strange as it may 
seem, the neglect and abuse that Edwin endured 
did not rob him of his strength and ability to per- 
form all the duties assigned him. So if Mrs. Fischer 
had hoped to bring on the premature death of her 
son through her cruel treatment, she was disap- 
pointed, and within her evil heart she conceived an- 
other plan. 

In a distant part of the country, among the hills 
where two public highways crossed was a home, 
large, aristocratic, and almost elegant in appear- 
ance. The large two-story-and-a-half brick house 
nestled amidst the dense evergreen and floral shrub- 
bery, the large luxuriant orchards widening around 
it, the immense barn on the corner opposite, and the 
wheat- and corn-fields waving in the distance, caused 
many a passer-by to envy the possessors ; but a look 
at the interior of the house and only a brief acquaint- 
ance with the occupants were sufficient to disillusion 
any one regarding the family's culture and hap- 
piness. 

Mr. Fitch, a thriving and ambitious young farmer, 
had inherited the home and, having married a woman 
of an evil and superstitious family, soon discovered 
that he was bound to a person whom the community 
looked upon as a witch. The years had rolled by, 
and Mr. and Mrs. Fitch were now old. The fame 



82 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

of the evil woman had been published, and she was 
considered as one who was able to relieve people 
of any sickness or to drive trouble away from their 
doors. The treatment, called powwowing, consisted 
of repeating long lists of words that she had learned 
from a book called "The Black Arts." This book 
and an almanac made up the entire Fitch library. 

As this Mr. Fitch passed the home of Mrs. 
Fischer on his way to and from the city, it became 
his custom to stop at the uncle's blacksmith shop. 
In this way the two families became acquainted, and 
Mrs. Fischer learned something of the nature of the 
witch. Just why and how it was suggested to the 
mind of Mrs. Fischer that the Fitch home would 
be the proper place to send her son is hard to tell. 
It would seem that Satan (understanding Edwin's 
desire to do right) helped her strive to throw every 
wicked influence possible about him and plan to dis- 
courage, deceive, and tempt him to do evil and be- 
come like the rest of the family. And she may have 
thought that there was a possibility of a mysterious 
and unquestioned death. At least, it happened that 
one day late in the summer she asked Mr. Fitch the 
question : 

"How would you like a fourteen-year-old boy 
who would work for you for his board and clothes?" 

"To be sure, I need one very much!" was the 



IN THE HOME OF A WITCH 83 

old man's reply. "My wife has a little girl to help 
her, and I need a boy to be with me. He could 
help with the chores and herd the cows. I've tried 
several lads, but they always run off." 

"Well, my Ed will be just the one for you then," 
said Mrs. Fischer confidently. "You needn't be 
afraid that he will run off, for he knows too well 
that he must stay where I put him." 

"How about his wages and schooling?" Mr. 
Fitch inquired with a suspicious glance at Mrs. 
Fischer, but he was instantly assured that such would 
not be necessary. "Only his clothes and board will 
be required, and I shall expect you to see that he 
earns them." 

"Very well, ma'am, then we can count it a bar- 
gain, and I will take your son right home with me 
today if you like," and the old farmer and Mrs. 
Fischer hastened to the house to inform Edwin of 
the plan. 

Edwin, brush in hand and down upon his knees, 
was diligently brushing away the crumbs from under 
the table in the dining-room when he was told in a 
few words to stop his work and prepare for the 
journey. 

"You are to go home with Mr. Fitch," his mother 
explained. "He wants you to live with him and 
be his choreboy." 



84 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

Perhaps Mrs. Fischer did not understand the ex- 
pression that came over Edwin's face, but the news 
gave him intense satisfaction. He could compare 
the change only to his visit in the home of Mr. and 
Mrs. Hahn, and he could desire nothing better. Any 
place, Edwin reasoned, must be better than his 
mother's home, and he was soon sitting beside Mr. 
Fitch as he drove away in the direction of the 
mountains. 

When they arrived at the place that Mr. Fitch 
explained was his home, Edwin was more delighted 
than ever, for he had never pictured anything more 
beautiful. But when they drew near the house and 
he heard oaths and language still more vile than he 
had ever heard from his mother's tongue, he won- 
dered if he heard aright. Even during her most ter- 
rible tantrums he had never heard such words, and 
when through the open kitchen-door he saw Mrs. 
Fitch with a rolling-pin in one hand and a pie-pan 
in the other and with her face turned toward the 
sky, blaspheming the great God of the universe for 
permitting a certain crop to fail, he felt faint and 
sick. 

Again and again the wicked woman blasphemed 
that holy name because of the failure caused by 
drought, and threatened, on account of the failure, 
to enter other fields and with a burning torch to set 



IN THE HOME OF A WITCH 85 

fire to them all. Then as curse after curse upon 
other things rang from her lips, she continued beat- 
ing the air with rolling-pin and pan until it was dan- 
gerous to be inside the room. Edwin remained very 
close to the door, and the girl whom Mr. Fitch had 
mentioned as being his wife's helper, he saw spring 
to one side just in time to escape being struck by a 
huge piece of dough that was thrown by the wicked 
woman at her head. 

How long the unearthly scene had been going on 
or would have continued is hard to say, but from 
exhaustion Mrs. Fitch sank heavily upon the floor 
and for some time was in an unconscious condition. 
In answer to Edwin's worried expression Mr. Fitch 
remarked, "Oh, that's nothing! She'll be all right 
after a while," and together they went out to the 
barn. Edwin asked no questions, but he wondered 
if such things were right and had to be. 

In this new place he soon discovered that he must 
bear, in some ways, even greater cruelties than had 
been forced upon him in his mother's home, for in 
rainy weather or during the hardest storms as much 
was expected of him as when the sun was shining. 
Many times he was forced to work all day long with- 
out a dry thread of clothing upon his body and often 
without sufficient food. For all this he never com- 
plained, but he wondered why it was impossible to 



86 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

please some people, when he was always satisfied 
with so little. 

The greater part of the Fitch property that was 
used for pasturing purposes was low and swampy 
and had long been the haunt of many poisonous 
snakes. One portion of the land that was higher 
than the rest, Mr. Fitch had decided to have pre- 
pared for spring plowing, and Edwin's work was 
to gather the brush and the stones into piles that 
they might be burned or hauled away. He was 
also instructed to drive the cows from those parts 
of the pasture in which the snakes were the most 
numerous. With nothing to protect his bare feet 
and with no understanding of the danger of snake- 
bites, he was often tramping in places where the 
reptiles were gliding past him in many directions, 
but upon none of these occasions was he ever bitten. 

It was said that ghosts and many strange objects 
were often discovered in the house or grove of the 
Fitch property, and also that some unearthly crea- 
tures had been frequently known to rise from an 
unused chimney and, moving slowly toward the 
large field, to disappear always at a certain place. 
Others said that ghosts and horrible-looking forms 
had been met in the grove, and still others had heard 
strange noises, as the slamming of doors and win- 
dows when no breeze was blowing, the moving of 



IN THE HOME OF A WITCH 87 

heavy pieces of furniture, and the rattling and drag- 
ging of heavy chains. 

One man said that once while working for Mr. 
Fitch he was sleeping in a certain room when sud- 
denly the covers from the bed began to move and 
that although he resisted with all his strength, they 
were torn away. Feeling confident that he was the 
only occupant of the room, he left the place in 
the night vowing that he would never return. 

These stories and many more were told by the 
visitors who congregated in the evening about the 
home from time to time, and they were usually ap- 
proved and strengthened by Mr. and Mrs. Fitch, 
who could tell of many worse and more absurd hap- 
penings. Edwin often listened to the weird tales 
because those telling them were anxious to frighten 
him, but sometimes it was because of his own curi- 
osity. He was often seized with a strong desire to 
investigate and to find out for himself whether the 
things that they said were really true. Upon dif- 
ferent occasions he was allowed to sleep in the rooms 
that were supposed to be haunted, but never did he 
see or find out anything that was unusual. 

Lying and stealing and other evils were often 
freely discussed by the boys and girls of the neigh- 
borhood when they gathered in the grove, and it 
was no uncommon thing to hear some one telling of 



88 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

a narrow escape from detection. Occasionally Ed- 
win was asked to tell a lie to help another cover 
up some evil deed, but this Edwin always stoutly 
refused to do. When fun was made of him or he 
was mocked for his principles of right, his answer 
was always, "I never want any one to lie or steal 
for me, and I will not do such things for any one 
else." His reason for speaking thus was not that he 
looked upon either of these things as sins, for he had 
no conception of what sin was. It was simply his 
sense of duty and his admiration of doing that which 
was right and just. Thus, his mother's desire to 
have him educated in wrong-doing was in no wise 
gratified, and his young life, even in the home of one 
of Satan's most efficient servants, was protected and 
preserved pure and blameless. 

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the coun- 
sel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sin- 
ners" (Psa. 1 : 1). 



A CONTRAST 89 

CHAPTER X 
A Contrast 

When people once are in the wrong, 
Each line they add is much too long; 

Who fastest walks, but walks astray, 
Is only furthest from his way. 

— Prior. 

At the age of nineteen Edwin was still untaught 
by man regarding the hereafter and God. The lit- 
tle that he had gleaned from the words and actions 
of the sinful people with whom he was forced to 
associate had opened his understanding sufficiently 
for him to know that there is a spirit life and some 
sort of reward for the evil and the good, but that 
was about all. 

His life in the home of Mr. Fitch had been hard 
indeed, but through all his hardships the desire to 
do right had never left him, and the little prayer 
learned in the poorhouse was still a comfort when 
he was lonely and sad. Many times in the silent 
hours of the night as he repeated the words softly 
to himself and realized the waves of strength and 
courage sweeping over him, he was made to won- 
der, but he never thought of connecting the prayer 



90 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

with God. To Edwin the words were simply a 
pleasant and sacred memory that was treasured and 
appreciated, but his divine Teacher was using them 
as a foundation for his spiritual education. 

Although Elmer knew little more concerning the 
hereafter, he was far better informed in the ways 
of the world, for his life had been paved with oppor- 
tunities, and he had made use of them. However, 
without a standard in his heart such as Edwin had 
erected and with no home government to protect 
and guide him, as a petted and humored and spoiled 
child he had indulged in many sins until some of the 
crimes traced to his door were of the blackest hue. 
He had already been tried for various crimes, but 
the latest trial was for his having promised to marry 
a young girl, when he had already a living wife and 
child in another part of the city. "Why," do you 
ask? "could this difference be?" Take a look into 
the heart and life of each, and you will discover the 
answer. Every thought and purpose of the one, 
regardless of consequences, had been to do the right 
for principle's sake and because it was right, and 
God, noting his good intentions, had guided him on- 
ward. The other, from the time that he had stolen 
the pebbles in the silent hours of the night, had sought 
for opportunities to do similar underhand deeds. 

Was it the fault of Elmer that such things should 



A CONTRAST 91 

be? Not altogether. The greater blame must be 
laid at the door of those whose duty it was to warn 
and advise him of his danger and to see to it that he 
obeyed them while he was young; for it is very 
plainly stated in the Bible that the child should be 
trained in its youth (Prov. 22: 6). Nevertheless, 
the evil-doer must have his just deserts; for "what- 
soever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal. 
6:7). 

Elmer had continued his stealing until among the 
stolen articles were suits of men's clothing, sums of 
money, and other things too numerous to mention. 
He had also been guilty of forging notes. But the 
crime of deceiving the young girl seemed to his 
friends the most humiliating. 

Although Edwin no longer lived in the commun- 
ity of his mother or Mr. Fitch, for he was support- 
ing himself, he had learned what a mother's place in 
his life should be and the attitude that a son should 
hold toward her. He therefore, regardless of her 
former shortcomings, went occasionally to see her. 
In answer to those who questioned how he could 
respect or visit his mother after all that she had caused 
him to suffer, he would say : "She is still my mother, 
just as though she had always been good to me, and 
I shall always regard her as a mother. During my 
childhood I held nothing against her for all the things 



92 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

I suffered, and why should I now?" Hearing of 
Elmer's trouble, Edwin hastened to his mother's 
home, and while listening to her tale of woe he heard 
her say: 

"I just can't understand what Elmer means by 
doing such outlandish things now that he is grown 
up. If he were a boy, I wouldn't think so much 
about it, but here he is a man and bringing home to 
us nothing but sorrow and disgrace. He can scarce- 
ly get out of one trouble until he is in another, and 
he even sets the other children up to do things that 
are bad. Now, how is it that you, whom I never 
gave credit for knowing anything, have never caused 
me any anxiety or trouble in any way? No matter 
where you are or how hard you have to work, I 
can never find any one that has anything bad to 
say about you. I can't see why there should be 
such a difference." 

"Why, Mother," Edwin answered, "it is very 
plain. I can tell you all about it. Do you remem- 
ber the time when Elmer took the pebbles from my 
pocket in the night time? That was his start. After 
that he often took things from your dress-pockets 
and money-drawer, and it was easy for him to slip 
in behind the counters at the stores to help himself, 
for you always took his part and shielded him ; and 
you never taught him that he must be true to his wife. 



A CONTRAST 93 

You told me I must never speak to you of these 
things, and I did not before, for I knew that it would 
do no good; but the little seed that was planted in 
his heart that night when he was allowed to keep 
the pebbles has grown until it is what you see it now. 
Elmer is a thief and will have to receive from the 
law the punishment that you ought to have given him 
long ago." 

"I don't see how taking a few little stones out of 
your pocket could make him a thief or amount to 
this," his mother said as the truth began to dawn 
upon her. 

"Why, Mother," Edwin answered, "it is just as 
natural for that little deed to grow and multiply as 
for a thistle-seed to grow and increase when it is 
dropped in the ground. One healthy stalk will bear 
a great many blossoms, and every blossom will have 
an abundant crop of seeds. The little thistle-seed is 
very small and perfectly harmless if watched and 
destroyed before it has time to grow, but let it take 
root in fertile soil and get a start, and it will surely 
yield many more thistles and continue to increase 
long after the plant itself is forgotten." 

While Edwin was speaking, his mother seemed to 
realize something of the meaning of his words. The 
time to undo many of the wrongs that she had done 
the growing boys when they were under her care had 



94 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

gone ; but had she known it, there was still a chance 
to help poor Edwin, who, through observation, had 
discovered some deep and mysterious truths. 

He had found that there is nothing certain upon 
the earth except that everything must have a begin- 
ning and an ending, and that old age and death 
are unavoidable. The stories of ghosts and super- 
stitious sayings had opened up avenues for thought, 
and he reasoned that if everything must die, and if 
there is a heaven and a hell, and if God knows all 
we do and say, there must be some way for a person 
to know in which of these places he will live after he 
is dead. 

For a long time the thought had troubled him, 
but although he had asked many people regarding 
the matter, no one had explained it to his satisfac- 
tion. Taking note of his mother's friendly attitude 
toward him, he ventured to ask if she could give him 
any information on the subject, but her answer was: 
"We can not know these things until after we are 
dead. We must wait and see." 

As Edwin left his mother's home to return to 
the place where he had been working, he was more 
perplexed than ever; but he had decided that since 
the good place and the bad had been made for a 
purpose and since the good and the bad must in- 
habit their own proper places, he would not cease 



A CONTRAST 95 

trying to solve the problem until he proved that it 
was an impossibility to do so. 

Poor Edwin ! Could some one have read to him 
from the Bible — but no! Had he listened, he could 
not have understood ; he had no way of knowing that 
it was God's word to man. 

"Blessed are they that do his commandments, 
that they may have right to the tree of life, and may 
enter in through the gates into the city" (Rev. 
22: 14). 



96 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

CHAPTER XI 
Searching for Light 

The inquiring spirit will not be controlled; 
He would make certain all, and all behold. 

— Sprague. 

At the age of twenty-one Edwin had formed one 
bad habit. Having had nobody to tell him that the 
use of tobacco was harmful to his body and seeing 
it used as commonly as a food by nearly all, re- 
gardless of age or sex, he had learned both to smoke 
and to chew. By the permission of the farmers for 
whom he had worked, he had raised a few tobacco- 
plants for himself, and the leaves of these plants, 
when carefully dried, were what he used as smoking- 
tobacco, but the cigars and chewing-tobacco he pur- 
chased at the store. 

But although Edwin had never heard that tobac- 
co was in any way unfit for the use of man, some- 
thing within him seemed to suggest that there were 
some things about its use that were filthy and un- 
clean. One thing that he abhorred was the chewing 
of tobacco in the house, because he pitied the women 
who were forced to look after and clean the spit- 
toons. When in the house in the evening or on Sun- 



SEARCHING FOR LIGHT 97 

day he considered smoking his pipe or cigars more 
appropriate, and he had supplied himself with spe- 
cial mouth-pieces for his cigars and convenient cases 
in which to carry them in his pockets. He did his 
chewing when at his work in the field. He also felt 
that it was placing his employer's property in too 
much danger to smoke when about his work in the 
barn, and this he always avoided. Thus, the same 
principle that had governed his earlier years was 
still his ruling trait. 

Although for so many months Edwin had been 
seeking carefully and often with tears for some clue 
to the mystery connected with the hereafter, he had 
as yet found no one who could inform him on the 
subject; for those whom he considered the best peo- 
ple living were as uncertain concerning the future re- 
ward as the most vile. But from information 
gleaned he felt that there must be a place some- 
where beyond the grave where the good and the 
bad would live again. When reasoning about the 
matter, he would say, "Now, if I am on the road 
to heaven, how am I to know if I get off that road 
and take a branch that will land me in hell?" 

The thought of his own good behavior and abhor- 
rence of all that he considered evil did not sug- 
gest to his mind that for this reason he might be the 
more entitled to enter the better place, for all his 



98 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

actions had been prompted by a sense of justice and 
his duty toward his fellow men. 

Having become acquainted with a young mar- 
ried couple named Frank and Amanda Kauffman, 
Edwin went often to their home to pour out his 
troubles and perplexities. But although these peo- 
ple tried hard to help him, their efforts often plunged 
him into greater doubts and confusion. Whenever 
he went to them or to any one else with his question, 
it seemed that the answer was still the same: "No 
one can know about these things. We must all wait 
and see." Still he was not discouraged. Instead 
he was more than ever determined to keep on try- 
ing until he did find out. 

Had Edwin been able to reason about the drunk- 
ard, the thief, or the liar, as not being fit for the 
good place, it might have been different, but to him 
the evils with which they were bound were a mat- 
ter of choice. He had never heard the story of 
Adam and Eve, and so did not know that their first 
sin had severed not only them but also the entire 
human race from God's family (Rom. 5: 19). Had 
he known that it is impossible for any one to know 
God or to enter the better world without first real- 
izing that he is already condemned and on the road 
to destruction, and that the only way to be trans- 
ferred to the highway leading to heaven h to be 



SEARCHING FOR LIGHT 99 

forgiven and adopted back into the family of God 
as a redeemed child, it would not have been so hard 
for him to understand upon which road he was 
traveling. 

It was springtime, and as the days grew warm 
and bright, the tiny grass-blades in the meadow- 
lands made their appearance. Then it was that the 
farmer for whom Edwin was working realized that 
it was time to gather the stones that were scattered 
here and there throughout the meadow into piles 
that they might be hauled away before they became 
lost in the soft, velvety carpet of green; for should 
they be left where they were, later on the knives of 
the mowing-machine and the teeth of the hay-rake 
would be badly damaged and perhaps broken. Ed- 
win was told, therefore, that his work for a time 
would be to gather all the stones, both large and 
small, into heaps in systematic order so that they 
could be easily hauled away by the team in the 
large farm-wagon. 

As the field was large and level, it was a pleasant 
place to work, and Edwin, having plenty of time to 
think, confined his thoughts principally to the things 
that were uppermost in his mind. He reasoned thus: 

"Now, if a man must walk every step of the way 
through life in uncertainty and doubt as to what the 
ettd will be, and has sfuch a short time to stay in this 



100 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

world, how miserable the remainder of my life will 
be! If only I could do something whereby I could 
know surely that I would at the last have my desire, 
I would be so glad! Still," he reasoned on, "there 
must be some way to know these things, and I will 
not stop trying to find out just what it is. It's alto- 
gether unreasonable to believe that we can not know 
until after we die about these things. God surely 
has some way to let us understand; for if he didn't 
what would there be to hinder every person on earth 
from going to hell ? Surely God wants some of the 
people to go to the other place." 

His belief that some were surely on their way to 
heaven was firm, and he felt that those few must not 
be in doubt as to where they were going, and that 
God must in some way let them know how to live 
in order to keep on the right road, and also that their 
lives must be peaceful and happy. But he felt that 
some great change would have to take place in one's 
life before this assurance could come. 

Thus, God again, when all men failed him, be- 
came Edwin's teacher, for these thoughts were in 
accordance with the Bible, and in wisdom and love 
his heavenly Father helped him to comprehend the 
very principles of a true Christian life. The truths 
he thus learned were so deeply stamped upon his 
mind with the divine seal that they could never be 



SEARCHING FOR LIGHT 101 

erased. Still within his heart there was another 
question that had not been answered: "How can 
I get this assurance within my own heart ?" Noth- 
ing could ever bring satisfaction until he knew with- 
out a doubt that he was going aright, and nothing 
but facts would ever dispel his doubts. 

"God," he reasoned, "is the only one who knows, 
and the only way for me to understand is for God to 
let me know just what he thinks about me. God 
will not deal with me according to what the people 
may think of me, or by what they may say. Some 
say that I am all right now; but if I were all right, 
I should be the first to know it, and I do not feel 
that I am fit now for heaven if I should die.*' 

The knowledge that he had always tried to do 
the best that he could and that he had endeavored 
to treat every creature living as fairly as he knew 
how was not enough to satisfy him, and he said: 
"There is something still of which I have never 
heard or dreamed. If only I could find out what 
it is or by what means I could get it, how glad I 
should be ! Can it be that I must die before I know 
what it is?" 

"Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth 
the secrets of the heart" (Psa. 44 : 2 1 ) . 



102 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

CHAPTER XII 
A Revelation on Eternity 

Life is real! Life is earnest! 

And the grave is not its goal; 
Dust thou art, to dust returnest, 

Was not spoken of the soul. 

— Longfellow. 

While Edwin was still laboring among the stones 
in the field of grass, this thought came suddenly to 
his mind: 

"If I should be so unfortunate as to die before I 
receive the assurance that I am going to heaven and 
I should happen to find myself in hell, how long 
would I have to be there? And how hot would be 
that fire that I have heard so much about from pro- 
fane tongues ? Would there be any ending or wear- 
ing away of eternity? and would the suffering after 
a while be less severe? or would it go right on just 
the same forever and ever?" 

As his desire to know these things increased, he 
was willing to lay aside his thoughts concerning how 
he was to get the assurance that he was going to 
heaven, and as he passed from one heap of stones 
to another, he became sorely troubled. He longed 



A REVELATION ON ETERNITY 103 

for a friend to whom he could go for help, but no 
one was suggested to his mind. Even his friend 
Frank Kauffman, he was sure, could not enlighten 
him; for to none of the questions he already asked 
upon these subjects had he received satisfactory an- 
swers. 

Then suddenly, as though he had passed into the 
great beyond, everything about him appeared to be 
changed. He seemed to have died and passed into 
hell, and the flames, as they rose in imagination 
about him, were penetrating every fiber of his be- 
ing, and he cried out in his distress. But as though 
the vision had been only to teach him of the reality 
of that place of torment, Edwin felt himself caught 
up, as it were, and he was seemingly suspended in 
an endless space with the eternal realities of life 
opened up for him to view. For miles and miles 
nothing but space appeared to stretch before, above, 
and around him, with the glaring flames that he had 
just left but a short distance behind him. 

Then the scene was changed, and he saw before 
him a great and high mountain of sand, and the 
thought of the impossibility of counting the grains 
was suggested to his mind. Again the scene changed, 
and each grain in the mountain seemed to be a year, 
and the grains as years began to form themselves 
into one continuous straight line, so long that the 



104 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

distance could not be measured by the human eye, 
for there was no end. Once more there was a 
change. The line of years took the form of a great 
measuring-rod, and strength was given Edwin to 
grasp the rod and to try to measure the duration of 
hell-fire ; and he tried to see if in eternity there could 
be any possible way of forgetting the past. Twice 
with the immense rod he measured into the sea of 
Forgetfulness, but before the third measurement was 
taken, he saw from a backward glance that hell was 
no farther away from him than it had been at the 
first. In great distress Edwin dropped the rod, and 
the vision passed away. 

When he realized that he was still in the field of 
grass and was on time's side of eternity, he was very 
glad indeed. Through the vision he was convinced 
of two things — that hell and its torments were cer- 
tain, and that eternity was without end — and he was 
filled with a new determination and zeal to do every- 
thing in his power to obtain an assurance within him- 
self that he was really on the road to the better 
world. 

How sad that Edwin could not have gone directly 
to Jesus as some did in olden time and have heard 
him explain that to enter heaven one must be born 
again. 

"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou 



A REVELATION ON ETERNITY 105 

hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence 
it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is every one that 
is born of the Spirit." "Except a man be born 
again, he can not see the kingdom of God" (John 
3:8.3). 



106 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

CHAPTER XIII 
Puzzled about Prayer 

Heaven asks no surplice round the heart that feels, 
And all is holy where devotion kneels. 

— Holmes. 

Edwin's distress of mind and his confusion of 
thought were greatly increased when, a few days 
after the vision in the field, there was another strange 
occurrence. The stones had not all been gathered 
into piles, but the work was progressing well, and 
when Edwin occasionally stopped in his work to note 
the appearance of the large field, he was pleased 
with what he had accomplished. The burden of 
his thought, however, was not the work nor the 
neatness of the place. Neither was it the beautiful 
scenery of slightly rolling country, the Christmas 
stories and legends connected with Blue Mountain, 
nor the ghost-stories and horrors in the home of the 
witch. Even the vision of eternity was a thing of the 
past. 

"If only I knew! If only I could tell, before I 
die, on which of the roads I am traveling to eter- 
nity!" was the constant cry of his troubled soul. 
Once when these words had just escaped his lips, he 



PUZZLED ABOUT PRAYER 107 

suddenly heard a strange and rumbling sound that 
seemed to come from the very heart of the earth, and 
he felt the ground beneath his feet begin to shake. 
Unable to understand what had happened, Edwin 
hastened to the house, but the people there were as 
mystified as he himself, except that they said, "Sure- 
ly it must have been an earthquake!" and some sug- 
gested that the end of the world might be near. With 
this bit of knowledge, Edwin returned to his work, 
but oh, how heavy was his heart ! 

"Why is it so hard,'* he cried, "to discover the 
secret that is causing me all this worry and trouble?" 
But the words had no sooner escaped his lips than 
he added, "There is and there must be some way to 
find out, and I'll keep on trying until I know that it 
is of no use to try." 

Across the fields on a pretty knoll stood the hum- 
ble little dwelling of Frank Kauffman and his wife, 
and as Edwin glanced occasionally in that direc- 
tion, he wondered if his friend would be able to en- 
lighten him about the earthquake, and he planned 
to visit him that very evening after supper. 

Frank's home, although small, was always cozy 
and inviting; for Amanda, long before Frank mar- 
ried her, had been taught by her energetic, system- 
atic mother, Mrs. Miller, the principles of good 
housekeeping. And Frank, although not a Chris- 



108 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

tian, had been reared by a pious and devoted mother, 
who in all her ways endeavored to set before her 
children an example that she would not be ashamed 
to have them follow, and she was a woman who 
knew the value of prayer. For this reason Frank 
could easily talk on a few of the principles of re- 
ligion; but when it came to the actual experiences, 
he was at a loss to know what to say. 

But although Frank's mother was so noble and 
true, his father's goodness was only from a moral 
standpoint, and regardless of the evil effect that his 
smoking might have upon his three growing boys, he 
very much enjoyed his pipe. As a result of the 
father's indulgence, Frank and his two brothers, 
when scattered out in homes of their own, said, 
"Father smoked and seems none the worse for it, 
and I guess a little tobacco will not hurt us." 

But the fact that some of her family smoked at 
all never ceased to be a great worry to Mrs. Kauff- 
man, and whenever there was an opportunity she 
reminded them of their fault. And as Frank's home 
was but a short distance from his mother's, Edwin's 
visits were noticed by the anxious woman, and when 
she found that he too was a tobacco-user, she was 
much worried about the influence he might have 
over her son. 

After she had expressed her fears concerning Ed- 



PUZZLED ABOUT PRAYER 109 

win, one day to Frank, her son answered, "Mother, 
you are doing Edwin a great injustice; for instead 
of his being an evil associate, he is not only noble 
and good, but a pattern of good works, for even in 
the use of tobacco he is moderate and neat. More 
than this," Frank continued, "Edwin is very much 
interested in religion, and many times I am unable 
to answer his questions because they are so deep." 

Could Mrs. Kauffman have known Edwin at this 
time, she would certainly have been of a different 
opinion, and she might have helped him through some 
of his difficulties; but she knew nothing of the per- 
plexities of his mind, and Edwin did not know of 
her anxieties concerning his influence over her son. 

When Edwin saw the evening shades beginning 
to gather, he was glad, and as soon as his supper and 
evening duties were over, he made his way across 
meadow and fields to the home of his friend, and 
he did not forget to carry with him a generous supply 
of dried tobacco-leaves, which he had tied up in a 
large red handkerchief. The leaves were for his 
friend and him to smoke while they talked. 

As he passed the place in the field where he had 
felt the shock of the earthquake, he remembered 
that he had not told Frank about the vision of eter- 
nity and hell that was still fresh in his memory, and 
then so rapidly were, the .things suggested to his 



110 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

mind that he would like to say, that he began to 
wonder if he would be able to unburden his heart in 
so short a time. 

When he approached the house, he saw his friend 
Frank seated upon the porch. Frank was resting 
after a hard day's work in the field, but he gave 
Edwin a hearty welcome and bade him be seated 
beside him. Edwin took the chair, and the two were 
soon loading their pipes from the dried tobacco-leaves 
contained in the red handkerchief. Then as the cir- 
cles of blue smoke began to arise in the air, Frank 
asked : 

"Did you feel or hear over at your place any- 
thing of the earthquake?" 

"Yes, and I should like to know more about it,'* 
Edwin answered. 

"It shook the windows and doors in our house 

so hard that my wife couldn't imagine for a time 

what was happening," Frank continued, "and my 

horse in the field came very near getting away from 

»» 
me. 

"It seemed to me," Edwin remarked, "that the 
whole field where I was working was going to pieces 
and that I was going right down into eternity." 

Then, as they smoked, Edwin told his friend all 
about his vision and explained how dreadful he feft 



PUZZLED ABOUT PRAYER 1 1 I 

it would be to land in such an awful place when 
he came to leave this world. 

"I guess you felt like saying a prayer about the 
time you found yourself in hell, didn't you?" Frank 
asked as Edwin finished relating the incident. 

The awful picture of the future world that had 
been painted in words had caused Frank to shudder, 
for he was not prepared to die. It might have been 
Frank's manner and it might have been the tone in 
which the word "prayer" was spoken that caused 
Edwin to exclaim: 

"Prayer! what is prayer?" 

"Prayer," Frank replied, "is man's way of talk- 
ing with God. When anybody tells God what he 
wants, he prays; and God has promised to hear his 
words and to help him out of his troubles. But the 
person who prays must speak from his heart and 
not try to say a lot of words that he has learned 
from some one else or from a book. A prayer from 
the heart is the only kind that God will hear." 

"What do you mean by talking with God?" 
Edwin asked in a still more mystified tone, for he 
had never thought of man while still on the earth 
or in fact anywhere else, as speaking with God in 
heaven. 

After Frank had explained that such a thing was 
possible, Eowin exclaimed: 



112 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

"Who can make such a prayer? Do you know 
of any one who can?" 

The twilight shades had all disappeared from 
the sky above, and it was already dark where Frank 
and Edwin were sitting, but inside the cozy living- 
room Amanda, seated beside a table, upon which 
a kerosene-lamp was burning, was quietly knitting. 
Pointing in her direction, Frank said, confidently: 

"There's one who can pray. And she prays 
from the heart." 

Although Edwin had been in the home a number 
of times and had noticed Frank's wife, he had never 
talked with her, and as he gazed through the open 
window, he wondered what kind of person she could 
be. Turning suddenly to his friend, he said: 

"By what means does a person become able to 
pray such a prayer?" 

"By being converted," Frank answered. 

"Converted!" Edwin exclaimed with even more 
wonder shining in his large brown eyes, for he seemed 
to realize instantly that another great and important 
subject had been introduced. 

In answer to Edwin's question as to how it was 
possible to be converted, Frank explained that one 
was converted through prayer or by praying; but 
this answer was more confusing than any other had 
been, and Edwin exclaimed: . 



PUZZLED ABOUT PRAYER 113 

"Why, Frank, how is this? You say that the 
only kind of prayer that will amount to anything 
is that prayer that comes right out of the heart, and 
that to pray such a prayer one must be converted. 
And now you say that one is converted through 
prayer. Now tell me, if this is true, how and where 
does a person get his start?" 

Not being a Christian himself, or ever having had 
the experience of salvation, Frank did not know how 
to unravel the tangle of thought that he had woven 
within Edwin's mind, and he was at a loss to know 
what to say. 

How easy it would have been for Mrs. Kauffman 
to help Edwin out of his difficulty had she known, 
but she was in her own home a short distance away 
burdened and sad. She had watched Edwin as he 
crossed the fields on his way to the home of her son 
and knew that they were smoking upon the porch. 

When the subject of prayer was dropped, Edwin 
told his friend that the farmer for whom he was work- 
ing would soon be caught up with his work and that 
it would be necessary for him to look for a new place 
to work, and he asked Frank if he knew of any farm- 
ers who were needing help. As Edwin had expressed 
a desire to get into another neighborhood, if pos- 
sible, for the experience, Frank said that his father- 
in-law, Mr. Miller, would be in need of hired men 



114 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

during harvest, and added, "If you wish, I will 
speak a good word in your behalf." 

Edwin expressed his gratitude for his friend's in- 
terest, and then after a few other remarks he arose 
to go. Before leaving, however, he emptied the 
contents of the red handkerchief out upon a piece 
of paper. Then, putting the handkerchief in his 
pocket, he bade his friend goodnight. 

It was a beautiful evening, but Edwin paid no 
attention to the stars as they gazed down upon him 
from above. He was thinking of his friend's words, 
and he said aloud: "To be converted must be the 
very thing for me and just what I need. But how am 
I to get converted, since I must pray and since I 
can not pray until I get converted?" The words 
taught him at the poorhouse came quickly to his 
mind, but he said sadly: "No, they won't do! Frank 
said that a prayer is words, but that the words must 
not be any that have been learned from any person 
or book. They must come right out of one's heart. 
What can it all mean?" And that night, for the 
first time in many years, the little prayer failed to 
bring him comfort before he closed his eyes in sleep. 

"O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all 
flesh come" (Psa. 65: 2). 



A PRAYER-MEETING 



115 



CHAPTER XIV 
A Prayer-Meeting 

Oh the precious privilege 

To the pious given, 
Sending by the dove of prayer 

Holy words to heaven! 
Arrows from the burning sun 

Cleave the quivering air; 
Swifter, loftier, surer on, 

Speeds the dove of prayer. 
Bearing from the parted lips 

Words of holy love, 
Warm as from the heart they gushed, 

To the throne above. 

— Mrs. Hale. 

Not long after the excitement caused by the 
earthquake had subsided, Frank Kauffman in- 
formed his father-in-law, Mr. Miller, of Edwin's in- 
tention to change his place of employment and took 
great pains to mention the young man's good qual- 
ities. As a result, Frank returned with the message : 
"My father-in-law will be glad to have you help 
him on the farm even before harvest, and you are at 
liberty, he said, to come just as soon as you care to 
do so." Accordingly, at the end of the month Ed- 



1 1 6 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

win, together with his trunk and other baggage, was 
transferred to the home of Mr. Miller. 

When the news of Edwin's departure from the 
neighborhood came to the ears of Mrs. Kauffman, 
she rejoiced, because she felt that his influence over 
her son in regard to smoking would not be so great ; 
but little did she know what the move was to mean 
to Edwin or that it would bring him even more 
directly into her life. 

Mr. Miller, a well-to-do old farmer, was still 
strong for his age and well able to assume the respon- 
sibilities connected with his business; so the greater 
part of his help was hired by the day. But since 
he would need one steady hand to help him through- 
out the harvest-season with the barn- and house- 
chores, he hired Edwin for two months. Finding 
that all that Frank had said of him was true, the 
Millers took Edwin into the home as a member of 
the family. 

Edwin was not long in discovering that he greatly 
enjoyed being in this home, for both Mr. and Mrs. 
Miller were good people, and Mrs. Miller was a 
professor of religion. But to the young man so hun- 
gry for the right kind of living the lack of profanity 
between the husband and wife was the thing most 
noticeable and gratifying. 

He had been there but a short time when the 



A PRAYER-MEETING 1 1 7 

motherly sympathy of Mrs. Miller was aroused on 
account of his extreme ignorance on many subjects, 
and she did not grow weary in explaining the mean- 
ing of new words and in doing all else that she knew 
to do to enlighten his mind. That she might have a 
better opportunity to talk with Edwin, he was in- 
vited to share with the old couple the smoking-hour 
that was spent in the little summer-kitchen (for both 
Mr. and Mrs. Miller were fond of their tobacco). 
For this kindness Edwin was very grateful. 

The little summer-kitchen, which had been built 
just back and a little apart from the large, convenient 
farm-house, was principally for the purpose of keep- 
ing the larger building free from the offensive odors 
that might arise from the cooking or the use of to- 
bacco; but Mrs. Miller was so extremely neat and 
clean about her housekeeping that this room too was 
always cozy and inviting. In the chimney-corner 
of the kitchen a large fireplace had been built, and 
the latter had been covered by a closed iron cooking- 
grate. Above the rustic stove was a mantel, upon 
which the tobacco supplies of the old people were 
kept, and Edwin was told that he was welcome to 
place his pipes and cigars with theirs if he desired to 
do so. The invitation was gladly accepted, and 
when Edwin's things were arranged, the mantel 
was well filled. The other furnishings of the room 



I 1 8 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

were a large cupboard, the necessary articles for 
cooking, a long home-made dining-table in the center 
of the room with long benches on both sides, and a 
few old-fashioned straight-backed chairs. And here 
they met night after night to smoke and to talk. 

The congregation to which Mrs. Miller belonged 
was in the habit of holding their weekly prayer- 
services in the residences of the different church- 
members, and soon after Edwin's arrival in her home 
Mrs. Miller told him that on the following Thursday 
evening there was to be a prayer-meeting at her 
house. 

"A prayer-meeting!" Edwin exclaimed with as 
much wonder and astonishment as he had displayed 
when talking with Frank about prayer; and immedi- 
ately he connected the words with those that he had 
listened to on the porch of his friend's home. And 
when he asked simply, "What is a prayer-meeting?'* 
she hid her surprize and explained that some people 
from different parts of the neighborhood would come 
together after supper in some room and spend an 
hour in reading, praying, and singing hymns. 

"Can I be with you too?" Edwin asked as 
though he expected to be denied the privilege; but 
when Mrs. Miller answered, "Certainly," the be- 
seeching look immediately changed to one of glad- 
ness. 



A PRAYER-MEETING 1 1 9 

"Can it be possible," thought Edwin the following 
day as he went about his work, "that in this very 
home where I am now living they will have prayer. 
Only three more days! How can I wait until 
Thursday night?" 

When at last the appointed evening had arrived, 
Edwin with great inward emotion and with bright 
anticipations watched the people as they arrived in 
groups of twos and threes, some on foot and others 
in carriages. When all had arrived and had passed 
on into the house, they were greeted by Mrs. Miller, 
and Edwin was invited to join them in the comfort- 
able sitting-room of the large house. 

Edwin felt that these people were conferring upon 
him a wonderful privilege and honor, but he could 
not get away from the feeling that he was an in- 
truder in their meeting. He was surprized that no 
one else seemed to look upon his being there as 
strange. In fact, all were so very kind that he de- 
cided to get all the good possible from being there 
and to solve, if he could, the puzzle of prayer, also 
to find out what it meant to become converted. 

Now, Edwin had never learned that there was 
any other language than the Pennsylvania Dutch 
dialect, and having never been in a neighborhood 
where the Bible truths in any language were taught 
in his hearing, and not knowing that there was a 



120 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

Bible or a Savior, he had no way of understanding 
(even in his mother- tongue) what to most people 
would have been simple and readily comprehended. 

When all was in readiness for the service to begin, 
a song was sung and then a chapter from the large 
German family Bible was read. After that all 
knelt to pray. Edwin knelt also, but he faced the 
others and gazed upon the upturned faces as though 
they belonged to creatures from another world. 
When Amanda and Mrs. Kauffman prayed and he 
saw their faces beaming with the glory of God, he 
was sure that their prayers were informal, for no 
books were before them and the words seemed to 
come from their hearts. The reason that he could 
not understand what was said, he felt sure, was be- 
cause they were talking to God, and the language 
was that of another world. 

When they arose and began telling of God's 
goodness to them, some even leaping and shouting 
at times, Edwin supposed that it was another form of 
prayer, and as the words spoken were all in German, 
they too, he reasoned, must belong to another world. 
Notwithstanding he rejoiced because he was there, 
and he believed that everything was just as it should 
have been. 

When the meeting had been dismissed and the 
people had gone to their homes, Edwin and Mr. and 



A PRAYER-MEETING 121 

Mrs. Miller went to the summer-kitchen to smoke 
before retiring. While they were rilling their pipes 
and selecting the coals to light them, Mrs. Miller 
inquired, "How did you like the meeting tonight, 
Edwin? Was it like you thought it would be?" 
His answer did not reveal the fact that he had not 
understood enough of what had been said or done 
to form any new conclusion. He did tell her, how- 
ever, that he thought the meeting was really wonder- 
ful, and he asked how they all knew that they were 
on the road to heaven. For Mrs. Miller this was a 
very hard question to answer, for she too was living 
in great uncertainty regarding the future and her 
reward; so she said: 

"They don't know anything about that for sure in 
this life. They must wait until after they die before 
they can find that out." 

In reply to Edwin's questions on prayer and what 
it means to be converted, Mrs. Miller explained 
that she had gone forward and given her hand to 
the minister a long time before and that after waiting 
a year's time he had told her she was in the church, 
and that joining church was what was meant by 
being converted. 

"What do you mean by 'church'?" Edwin asked, 
feeling that he had found another word bearing upon 
the great subject that was perplexing him. 



122 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

"Why the church is that big building down on the 
first four corners as you go into town. You can't 
miss it, for it's the only building there, and if you 
want to go down there with us some time to a meet- 
ing, you can. We have meeting, you know, every 
Sunday at the church." 

But Edwin did not know, so he said, "Do you 
mean that you have prayer-meeting every Sunday?" 

"Oh, no," she answered; "it isn't a prayer- 
meeting. We just get together and listen to the min- 
ister talk, but we always sing, and the minister prays 

f»» 
or us. 

"And don't you know, because you go to that 
church, that you will go to heaven when you die?" 
Edwin said in astonishment, but the answer was, 
"Oh, no; we don't really know anything about 
that." 

As Edwin pondered over the matter that night 

when alone, he said, "If it took Mrs. Miller a whole 

year to get into the church, it will take me that long 

to get converted; but I can't see why she doesn't 

know any more than she does about getting to heav- 

*» 
en. 

Although Edwin could get no understanding in 

regard to the deep things that were upon his mind, 

he never for one moment thought of giving up in his 

efforts to search for them and to find out. In his 



A PRAYER-MEETING 123 

heart he was still sure that there was a way to know 
these things, and although his friends had failed to 
discover them, his confidence in their sincerity was 
not in the least shaken. 

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, 
as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering 
to usward, not willing that any should perish, but 
that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). 



124 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

CHAPTER XV 
A Star of Hope 

Come then, care! grief! woe! 

troubles! mighty in your kind; 
I have a balm ye ne'er can know, 

A hopeful mind. 

— Vane. 

During the weeks that followed, Edwin was very 
busy, but most of the time that he was at work about 
the chores or in the harvest-field where the men were 
gathering in the ripened grain or preparing for the 
threshers, he was reviewing in his mind the scene on 
eternity, the talks with Frank, the prayer-meeting, 
and what Mrs. Miller had told him in regard to the 
church. 

"It will take me just a year from the time I start 
to go to church before I can become converted, or 
be able to pray the right kind of prayer," he said 
to himself; "and how much longer will it take before 
I know that I am on the road to heaven?" for re- 
gardless of Mrs. Miller's confident statement that 
nobody in this world could know of his future re- 
ward, Edwin was still of the opinion that people 
could. "It's just because they haven't got that far 



A STAR OF HOPE 125 

along, I guess," he reasoned, and he felt very sure 
that some of the people who were at the prayer- 
meeting must know. 

Among the day-laborers who worked for Mr. 
Miller was a Mr. Kunz, who, although not a Chris- 
tian, was a good, intelligent, and friendly fellow, 
and who lived only about a mile away. For this 
young man Edwin soon formed a great attachment, 
and as the weeks slipped by he occasionally found 
time and opportunity to visit him in his home. Dur- 
ing one of these visits Mr. Kunz said in answer to 
Edwin's questions bn prayer and the other things 
that were troubling him : 

"I don't know very much about such things, Ed- 
win, but I think that you can find out all you want 
to know if you will go to the big camp-meeting that 
is soon to be held on the camp-ground yonder," and 
with his finger Mr. Kunz pointed to a strip of woods 
that Edwin had heard spoken of as the "Camp- 
Ground." 

"Why! what has the camp-meeting to do with 
such things?" Edwin asked, greatly surprized; for 
his idea of the camp-ground had been that it was a 
place for worldly amusements to be held, such as 
picnics, festivals, and ball-games, and it was hard 
for him to connect it with anything that he consid- 



126 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

ered so solemn as prayer and getting an assurance 
of heaven. 

"It has much to do with it, Edwin," Mr. Kunz 
replied. "The meeting is held by men and women 
who are converted and whose business it is to see 
that those who come to the meeting get converted. 
They will know what you need and will help you 
to understand how to get it." 

"Do you mean," Edwin asked, his eyes opening 
wide in wonder, "that one can get converted right 
there at the meeting?" 

"Yes, indeed, I mean it," Mr. Kunz replied, 
smiling at the eagerness of Edwin. "Every year 
many are converted, and it is for that very purpose 
that the meeting is held." 

Poor Edwin! It was hard for him to make the 
words of Mrs. Miller and those of Mr. Kunz 
harmonize; but as he considered what his friend 
had said, a bright star of hope arose in his sky, and 
he at once decided that the thing for him to do was 
to attend that meeting. He asked Mr. Kunz how 
it was possible for those people to get any one con- 
verted in so short a time. As Mr. Kunz was not a 
Christian himself, he could only answer that he did 
not know how it was, but that somehow they did it. 
With this knowledge Edwin arose to return to the 
place where he was making his home. 



A STAR OF HOPE 127 

It was Sunday afternoon early in August, but 
Edwin gave no heed to the warm rays of the sun. 
As he walked along the highway toward the home 
of his employer, his heart was light and happy, and 
as he was alone he swung his arms and clapped his 
hands in his delight. The thought that it was possi- 
ble to become converted within a week's time, or 
eight days, as the meeting was to continue over two 
Sundays, seemed almost too good to be true. "But 
why not," he reasoned, "when there will be such 
able men and women at the meeting to do the work. 
At the church where Mrs. Miller was converted, 
it might have taken a year, for there was but one man 
to do the work; but at the camp-meeting there will 
be many." 

Then he began to wonder how the work would be 
accomplished, and he concluded that it would take 
some kind of a scientific, systematic performance, to- 
gether with a wonderful prayer, and that then, if 
the work had been properly done, an assurance that 
the person was converted and safe for heaven would 
come. 

Suddenly as he walked along, he felt that he was 
not alone, but no one was in sight. Then these 
words seemed to be whispered in his ear: 

"You had better not rejoice too soon, for your 
hope may be in vain. Your master may refuse to 



128 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

let you go to the camp-meeting; for you know how 
busy he is just now and how necessary that he 
should have your help." 

But without the slightest fear Edwin answered in 
an audible tone: 

"Yes, sir, I know that the work is pushing us hard 
just now, but this matter, to my mind at least, is of 
far greater importance than all the work on the farm. 
And then I do not expect my master to give me the 
time off to attend the camp-meeting. I'll tell him 
how much I dislike to leave him and that nothing 
else at such a time would induce me to go. Then 
I'll say that I will not only work for him as hard 
as I can the four weeks before I go, but that I will 
stay two weeks longer than I agreed to stay and will 
give him that work free, if he will only let me attend 
that meeting." 

Had Edwin thought to ask Mr. Kunz if anyone 
could get converted in less than the eight days, he 
might not have been so determined to remain for the 
entire meeting; but, supposing that it would take at 
least that long for the operation, he did not want to 
run any chances of failure in his undertaking. 

He had hardly finished telling what he would do 
in return for the favor that he was expecting to ask 
of his master, when again he seemed to hear the 
voice speaking. It said: 



A STAR OF HOPE 129 

"Your week's absence from the farm at this busy 
time might cause your master so much inconvenience 
and loss that he would not even consider your offer 
of two extra weeks of labor in return." 

"Under such circumstance I'd give him a month's 
time for the one week," Edwin answered bravely. 

Then the voice suggested that he might be unable 
to leave under any circumstances, but at this sugges- 
tion Edwin exclaimed: 

"Well, sir, then I shall go anyway! My matter 
is of far greater importance than anything that is 
connected with his farm, and I can not afford to miss 
that meeting. I can not give up a chance to get con- 
verted; for if I do and should die, I shall go into 
eternity unprepared. I will just tell him that I am 
going anyway and will take my chances on all the 
rest." 

Because of this decision on Edwin's part, the 
tempter, who was Satan, the enemy of all who will 
do right, was forced to flee. Had Edwin listened 
to the suggestions longer or given the wicked one any 
encouragement to stay, there would have been no 
end to his arguments; for it is the business of Satan 
to discourage and dishearten all who seek to travel 
upon the highway that leads to heaven. 

Thus, we find that Edwin in his ignorance had 
once more been guided by Divine Providence and 



130 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

that his heavenly Teacher had taught and aided him 
in his hour of need. God never fails when a soul 
is doing his best to please him. Failure comes, not 
merely from a lack of understanding, but from a 
lack of decision and purpose to go all the way at any 
cost. Every one who is honest with himself and 
anxious to do the will of his Maker will be shown 
the way. 

"The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth 
all the sons of men. From the place of his habita- 
tion he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. 
He fashioned their hearts alike; he considereth all 
their works . . . Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon 
them that fear him, upon them that hope in his 
mercy; to deliver their soul from death" (Psa. 33: 
13-19). 



A REVELATION ON TOBACCO 131 

CHAPTER XVI 
A Revelation on Tobacco 

Who is it that will doubt 
The care of Heaven, or think the immortal 
Pow'rs are slow ? 

— Davenaut. 

When Edwin entered the barn on the morning 
following his Sunday afternoon visit, he found that 
Mr. Miller was there ahead of him and that the 
large forkfuls of fresh hay for the horses' breakfasts 
were already tumbling rapidly from the large mow 
above. 

"As soon as he comes down," thought Edwin, 
"I'll ask him about my going to that meeting, for 
it'll be as good a chance as I'll have." Then as he 
went about among the feed-bins, measuring grain 
for the stock, he rehearsed in his mind the little 
speech that he had planned, to see if it could be im- 
proved; but he decided that it was just what he 
should say, and with all his heart he hoped that his 
generous offer would be accepted. If possible, he 
wanted to go without causing any hard feelings on 
the part of his employer. Still he felt that he must 



132 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

go, and was resolved to go even if Mr. Miller should 
be stubborn. 

It was really but a few minutes until Mr. Miller 
was descending the stairway that led from the loft 
above, but to Edwin in his anxious state of mind it 
seemed a long, long time. It was a little hard at first 
to break the silence, but finally he said: 

"Mr. Miller, Mr. Kunz was telling me that the 
camp-meeting that is to be held on the camp-ground 
before long is for the purpose of getting people con- 
verted and that the work can be done in a week's 
time. I should like to go to that meeting, but I hate 
to leave you, for I know how much work there is to 
be done just now. But I feel that I must get con- 
verted as soon as I can, for I don't know how soon I 
may die. Now, I'll work for you as hard as I can 
before I go, and when I serve the time that I've 
agreed to stay, I'll work two weeks longer for you 
for nothing if you will only let me go to that meet- 
mg! 

Edwin had spoken excitedly, and every nerve in 
his body was on a tension when Mr. Miller said 
slowly : 

"Why, yes, I guess you can go. To me this 
matter of getting converted doesn't seem so import- 
ant, but I think I can manage the work all right if 
you want to go." 



A REVELATION ON TOBACCO 133 

Edwin could scarcely believe his ears, and when 
he found that no second offer was necessary, it was 
as though a great and heavy burden had been rolled 
from his heart. During the days that followed he 
endeavored to live up to the agreement that he had 
made to work faithfully for his master. Many times 
he thought of the meeting, and as often he asked 
himself: "Is there anything special that I can do to 
help in this matter? Is there anything that I ought 
to do so as to be better able to go through the opera- 
tion?" 

He even asked Mrs. Miller if she could think of 
anything more that he could do, but she, failing to 
understand his meaning, said: "No, there isn't much 
that you can do. The things about the camp-ground 
are pretty handy, and it's only a few miles away, and 
I will see to it that your clothes are clean and mend- 
ed." But still Edwin was not satisfied. Every day 
he reviewed his conduct to see if there was any possi- 
ble way that he could improve himself. 

One evening his divine Teacher again came to his 
assistance. It was after supper, and Edwin was 
still in the summer-kitchen. The smoking-hour, too, 
was over, and his pipe and tobacco were on the 
shelf. Mrs. Miller had retired to her room in the 
large house for the night, and her husband was mak- 



134 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

ing his usual rounds about the place to see that all 
the pasture-fences were secure. 

Sometimes when the horses and cows were trying 
to rid themselves of the tormenting flies and mosqui- 
toes, they would loosen the rails of the fences by rub- 
bing their itching sides against them. Thus an open- 
ing would often be made, through which, if not re- 
paired, the entire herd might find their way and do 
much damage both to themselves and to the large 
fields of waving corn that were growing all around 
the pasture-land. For this reason it was necessary 
after the animals had quieted down for the night to 
see that everything was in good condition, and Mr. 
Miller would trust no one to do this chore but him- 
self. 

Seated in his accustomed place on the bench near 
the end of the long dining-table, Edwin, with both 
elbows upon the table, was resting his face upon his 
hands. Again he was thinking of the one great sub- 
ject about which he was so seriously concerned. 
Suddenly he seemed not to be alone. Looking about 
him as though expecting to see some person stand- 
ing near, he heard a voice seemingly from above his 
head, and he was told to listen. 

When the voice of the tempter had spoken dis- 
couragingly on the way from Mr. Kunz's, Edwin 
had felt no fear, but now a fear that caused him to 



A REVELATION ON TOBACCO 135 

tremble crept over him. But when the voice in 
tender, loving tones said softly, "Do not be afraid, 
for I am your friend," he turned with eagerness to 
listen. 

"You want to be prepared for heaven," the voice 
continued. "Now, tobacco-using is unbecoming and 
unclean in my eyes, and before you can get on the 
highway that leads to heaven, you must stop using 
tobacco." 

Until then Edwin had not been told by a living 
creature that tobacco was not a food, or that it was 
unfit for the use of mankind, or unclean in the sight 
of God ; but as he listened to the words of his divine 
Guide and Teacher, the great truth of the matter 
sank deep within his heart, and he had no thought 
or desire to dispute them. Neither did he stop to 
think or reason that his best friends Mr. and Mrs. 
Miller, Frank Kauffman, and Mr. Kunz were all 
using tobacco. Instead he arose and, going to the 
mantel, selected all his smoking-materials there, 
opened the grate, and dumped them one and all 
upon the few living coals that were still smoldering 
among the ashes. He also brought from his room 
in the large house a box of cigars, some pipes and 
cigar-holders, and threw them in upon the other 
things. 

When Edwin, all unconscious of the dense smoke 



136 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

and the strong odor that were beginning to arise from 
the old-fashioned chimney, returned to his place by 
the table, he resumed his former position on the 
bench and endeavored to continue his meditation as 
it was before the revelation. 

Outside the night was perfect. A bright moon 
looked down from its lofty height among the stars 
and revealed the farmer repairing a place in the 
fence-corner where the rails had been loosened. 
Scarcely had he finished the task, when a glance 
from the hollow in which he was busy toward the 
hill upon which his home was located, caused him 
to gasp and shudder with fear. Then with his nose 
in the air he began to inhale and said, "Why, that 
smells like tobacco-smoke." The time of night and 
the fact that the smoke was coming in great volumes 
from the chimney of the summer-kitchen made him 
think that the kitchen was on fire and that the tobacco 
on the mantel-shelf was causing the smoke. 

With anxious haste the excited old gentleman 
turned his steps toward the house and hurried for- 
ward in that direction. A few minutes later Ed- 
win's surprize was no less than his employer's had 
been; for the latter, breathing heavily and nearly 
exhausted from the exertion of climbing the hill in 
such haste, threw open the door and rushed in. For 
the moment neither spoke, and then after a curious 



A REVELATION ON TOBACCO 137 

glance first toward the mantel and then at Edwin, 
who was still sitting calmly beside the table, Mr. 
Miller hastened to the grate and, lifting the lid, 
gazed in wonder upon the heap of burning tobacco. 

That the old farmer was displeased and even 
vexed at what he saw could be easily detected in his 
features. Seeing that only Edwin's belongings were 
in the fire, he hastily demanded an explanation. 
Edwin replied that he had destroyed the tobacco 
and cigars because he did not feel that they were fit 
for him to use, but he said nothing about the manner 
in which he had discovered the fact. "I put them in 
the fire," Edwin continued, "because I did not want 
any one else to defile himself with what I could not 
use myself." Then seeing that Mr. Miller was tak- 
ing a few of the cigars from the grate, he said, "If 
you take them out of the fire and use them, I shall 
not be to blame, but I have no more use for tobacco, 
and I will not give to any one else what I consider 
unfit to use myself." 

To Edwin the use of tobacco had been a great 
source of comfort in his lonely hours, and he had 
endeavored to secure for himself every little conven- 
ience that would make its use more pleasant and 
cleanly. Aside from his pipes and cigar-holders, he 
had provided himself with a self-lighting match-safe 
for his vest-pocket, a self-closing rubber chewing- 



138 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

tobacco pouch that kept the tobacco clean and moist, 
and other things that appealed to his sense of clean- 
liness. His efforts had always been to do away with 
the filthy part connected with its use. In fact, he 
had often been commended for his neatness in re- 
gard to his tobacco; but when God said that it was 
unclean and unfit for the use of any one who was 
seeking to be on the highway to heaven, he did not 
care for it at all. It was no trial to give it up, and 
he was glad to part with everything connected with 
its use. 

Edwin's example should have been a real rebuke 
to Mr. and Mrs. Miller, but instead, they attributed 
his conduct to his ignorance and even made almost 
unkind remarks about his unnecessary waste. But 
this couple should not receive too much blame; for 
they, like Edwin, had never been taught that the use 
of tobacco was anything that should be avoided. In 
their home life they had all respect for Edwin, and 
in their efforts to help him in his ignorance to under- 
stand their views of the Christian life they had been 
honest and earnest. 

Their displeasure at his destruction of his tobacco- 
supplies was due to the fact that they had never 
heard that tobacco was injurious to their bodies and 
not a food. In their minds Edwin's conduct was 
justly worthy of criticism. Had they known that 



A REVELATION ON TOBACCO 139 

the pleasure derived from the use of tobacco is like 
the sensation produced by scratching and rubbing 
the skin when one has a skin-disease, they might have 
understood. If it were not for the disease, no pleas- 
ure would result from the friction. Likewise, were 
it not for the disease of the tobacco-appetite, the use 
of tobacco would sicken instead of give pleasure. 
Tobacco contains a deadly poison. Its constant use 
will in time injure both body and mind past repair. 
In many cases it has been the direct cause of various 
diseases and insanity, and it may land the soul in 
hell. 

"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly 
out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust ... to 
be punished: but chiefly them that walk after the 
flesh in the lust of uncleanness" (2 Pet. 2:9, 10). 

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, 
that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither 
yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteous- 
ness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as 
those that are alive from the dead, and your mem- 
bers as instruments of righteousness unto God" 
(Rom. 6:12, 13). 



140 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

CHAPTER XVII 
The Camp-Meeting 

And many learned to trust the Lord 
From precious truths that here were heard, 
While sounded out God's precious Word 
From pulpit and from altar too. 
By hearing of its meaning true, 
They learned to know that God would do 
Just as his Holy Word had said, 
In leading all that would be led. 

—A. B. Gildersleeve. 

Edwin was faithful to his promise regarding his 
employer's interests, and at the end of the month the 
farm-work was under such good control that both 
Mr. and Mrs. Miller had decided that they too 
could attend a part of the meeting. Several times 
Edwin had visited his friend Mr. Kunz, and upon 
one occasion he had noticed that where the roads 
crossed there was a large advertisement. It read: 

CAMP-MEETING 

August 31 — September 7 

A series of religious open-air meetings will be 

held on the 

Camp-Ground at Maple Grove 

Everybody invited. Come and bring your friends. 

Camp-Meeting Committee 



THE CAMP-MEETING 141 

But as he could not read the words, he was at a loss 
to understand what was meant by the sign ; but when 
his friend explained that it was a notice of the camp- 
meeting of which he had been telling him, Edwin 
thought he comprehended, and he felt that it was 
indeed a wonderful thing. 

When at last the morning of the thirty-first ar- 
rived, everything about the farm was in excellent 
condition to leave. Mrs. Miller brought Edwin his 
clean clothes that she had so carefully mended, and 
said: "On the camp-ground, Edwin, you will find 
a large boarding-tent. There you can buy your 
meals, and there will be some place given you to 
sleep at night. Of course, you can do as you like, 
but I wouldn't take along anything that I didn't 
need, for bundles will only be in your way." So 
when Edwin set out for the camp-ground, which 
was a distance of about five miles, he was empty- 
handed. 

The day was perfect, and Edwin, dressed in a 
neat suit of clothes, straw hat, and colored shirt, 
appreciated it as such. The little birds and nature 
had lost none of their charms for him in all the try- 
ing scenes through which he had passed, but upon 
this occasion they were merely passing thoughts, 
for his mind was upon the meeting and his purpose 
in going to it. 



142 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

From his experiences in the prayer-meetings Ed- 
win had learned that he could not understand the 
words that were used in prayer, and he did not know 
why this was so; consequently the thought was sug- 
gested to his mind that now perhaps he would be 
unable to know when the operation through which 
he was soon to pass would begin. 

Dinner was just over when he reached the 
grounds, but although the boarding-tent was pointed 
out to him by a man who was working hard to get 
his tent-pole in position, Edwin did not go to ask 
whether there would be a second table, partly from 
ignorance and partly because of his not being very 
hungry. He was more anxious to examine the place 
where the meetings were to be held. Mr. Kunz had 
given him a description of what to expect, but he 
wanted to see it all for himself. He soon discovered 
the crude structure that was to serve as a pulpit, and 
he found that it was just as his friend had described 
it. The rows of seats, which were simply some 
boards laid upon large blocks of wood, were also 
as he had expected to see them. There were enough 
of these rude benches to accommodate a large con- 
gregation. Only above the stand was there a cover- 
ing, and Edwin wondered what would happen in 
case of a storm, but this also was but a passing 
thought. 



THE CAMP-MEETING 143 

Finding, by inquiring of a neighbor whom he 
happened to know and whose name was James 
Hass, that the meeting-hour was close at hand, Eld- 
win suddenly realized that if he was to have an in- 
terpreter he must make haste in finding one, and as 
Mr. Hass did not seem to have any special duties, 
he asked the favor of him. After Edwin had ex- 
plained that his object in coming to the meeting was 
to be converted and that all he wanted of Mr. Hass 
was that he inform him when to act, the two went 
at once and took their places on the front row of 
seats very close to the pulpit, and there they waited 
patiently while the rest of the people assembled. 
Judging that Mr. Hass would be as anxious to help 
him as Edwin had himself always been to do kind 
acts for others, he had no thought of doubting his 
interpreter's sincerity. After the bell had rung the 
minister soon arrived, and the meeting was begun. 

The opening exercises were similar to those of 
the prayer-meetings that Edwin had attended and 
were in the German language. The minister arose 
and read as his text Titus 3:7: "That being justified 
by his grace, we should be made heirs according to 
the hope of eternal life." As he talked upon the 
hope of the righteous, his words would have been a 
great inspiration and encouragement to Edwin could 
he have understood them. The speaker went into 



144 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

detail regarding the sinful state of mankind and en- 
deavored to make perfectly clear why it was neces- 
sary that a person should see his lost condition before 
he could become a Christian by being born again, 
but of course Edwin did not receive the least light. 

At the close of the sermon the minister said, "If 
any one desires to be converted and become an heir 
to these promises, let him stand." 

"It's time to act now," Mr. Hass whispered in 
Edwin's ear, not knowing that Edwin had thus far 
understood nothing of the sermon; but he explained 
his meaning by adding. "You must stand up and let 
him know that you want to be converted." 

Without a moment's hesitation Edwin arose, and 
while he waited to be told what next to do, his heart 
was bounding with joy and bright anticipation, for 
he was positive that the wonderful operation of 
which he had been so long dreaming had at last 
actually commenced. He was sure that they were 
beginning with him all right, for they were commenc- 
ing with his case on the very first day of the meeting. 
And, because he supposed that it would require the 
entire season of the camp-meeting to complete the 
work, he was very grateful to his interpreter for 
telling him what to do. 

While standing thus in front of the audience, he 
turned about to see if there were any in the con- 



THE CAMP-MEETING 145 

gregation that he knew, and to his surprize he discov- 
ered in one of the back seats his mother and a few 
others with whom he had been acquainted. With 
a thrill of satisfaction he again faced the minister, 
wondering if they too had come to the meeting to gel 
converted. He did not know that his mother had 
lately taken up a "faith," as she called it, and by 
her old associates was being termed religious. But 
he believed that she must have had some good inten- 
tion in coming to so sacred a place and that she 
would approve of the step he had taken. 

He was still standing, facing the minister and won- 
dering what the next step would be for him to take, 
when his interpreter explained that he must be seated. 
Edwin was greatly disappointed, for he desired that 
since the work had commenced it might go right on 
to its completion. Still he made no complaint, be- 
lieving that the minister knew his business and would 
be faithful to him. 

As Edwin sat down beside Mr. Hass, feeling 
that everything would come out all right in the end, 
he did not see the expression of disgust that shad- 
owed his mother's face. Feeling that he was dis- 
gracing her by his ignorance, she would have en- 
joyed punishing him as she was in the habit of doing 
in his childhood, but this was beyond her power. 

It was but a few minutes after Edwin had taken 



146 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

his seat until the meeting was dismissed, and the peo- 
ple scattered out over the grounds, a few to the pump, 
some to the boarding-house entrance, and others to 
their private tents. Edwin followed the largest 
crowd, for Mr. Hass had left him as soon as the 
meeting was dismissed, and he went to the boarding- 
house for his supper. He was very hungry, having 
had no dinner. After the meal was ended, he 
walked about over the grounds until it was time for 
the evening service. Very glad he was when he 
heard the meeting-bell ringing as Mr. Kunz had ex- 
plained it would, and, finding his interpreter, he was 
soon again seated in front of the pulpit. 

The evening's discourse was given in the English 
language, but it was no more enlightening to Edwin 
than the afternoon's sermon had been; still, by his 
expression of reverence and awe the congregation 
was not aware of this fact. At the close of the ser- 
vice Edwin was surprized to see that the entire con- 
gregation arose and remained standing as he had 
done in the afternoon. By this he supposed that all 
who were there had come to be converted. Then 
an altar-call was made, and Edwin's interpreter 
whispered, "That means to go forward." 

Now, if Edwin had not already been in front of 
the entire audience, he would have gone forward; 
but supposing that the call was for some one else, 



THE CAMP-MEETING 147 

he remained standing as he had done in the after- 
noon, but he made no move toward the altar. Still 
the singing continued and no one came forward, and 
as the minister's manner became more and more ear- 
nest, all eyes were turned toward him. Edwin be- 
came sorely troubled; for he feared that he was not 
doing all that he should do to get the best results, 
and he did not want to hinder the operation. 

He saw the long vacant bench in front of the pul- 
pit, but he had no way of knowing that "going for- 
ward" meant to kneel in prayer before the altar 
where the spiritual workers might pray with and 
help him to understand what it meant to be con- 
verted. For this ignorance he was misjudged, many 
supposing that he was stubborn and unwilling to bow 
before the altar in so humble a manner. 

Noticing that Mr. Hass had occasionally spoken 
to him, no one else thought it necessary to do so. It 
seemed that night that the singing and invitations 
were continued an unusually long time, for Edwin's 
case was already creating an interest. The fact 
that he was a subject for prayer and the anxiety 
pictured upon his face made many long to see him 
move out and get an experience of salvation. And 
Edwin, feeling that something was expected of him 
and that he was losing much valuable time, became 



148 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

more anxious and concerned as the moments crept 
by. 

It was another opportunity for his divine Teacher 
to act* and suddenly he seemed to feel the pressure 
of a strong hand placed upon his shoulder, and by 
an unseen power he was forced downward upon his 
knees directly in front of the altar. Although he 
could not have told how or why he was there, he 
was sure that it was the right thing for him to do, 
and immediately his worry was gone. Thus, uncon- 
sciously and mysteriously he was being led one step 
at a time, but always he was unable to know just 
what thing to do next. 

Seeing Edwin kneeling at the altar, the minister 
soon came and, kneeling beside him, began to ask 
various questions, but to all that he said he received 
no answer, and he wondered at Edwin's silence. 
Then again Edwin was misjudged. Not knowing 
that it was because the young man did not under- 
stand the language, the minister arose, leaving Ed- 
win still kneeling at the altar, and dismissed the 
meeting. 

When Edwin realized that the people were scat- 
tering out over the grounds, he too arose from the 
altar and followed them. Then he remembered 
that Mrs. Miller had said that some place would 
be found for him to sleep, and as Mr. Meyer, one 



THE CAMP-MEETING 149 

of Mr. Miller's neighbors, appeared among the 
crowd, Edwin made his wants known, and the kind 
old gentleman hastened to show him a good bed 
that he had prepared in his covered wagon. It had 
been made, he told Edwin, for another brother, but 
he could share it if he liked. 

Edwin lost no time in getting into the place as- 
signed him, but before sleep would come to his eyes, 
he had carefully reviewed in his mind all the events 
of the day. Charging his mind with the place where 
he had left off in the evening, he was determined to 
commence again right there at the very first oppor- 
tunity that was offered him, and he was confident 
that he would somehow discover just what was the 
next best thing to do. Still he could not help won- 
dering just what that step would be. He was still 
pondering upon these things when sleep came to his 
relief, and it was not until the early songs of the 
little birds pealed merrily forth through the grove 
the following morning that he awoke from his 
dreams. 

Edwin was soon dressed and out upon the grounds, 
feeling thankful indeed that he was still permitted 
to live and enter upon another day of life. Only 
a few people were in sight, and he began to wonder 
how long it would be before breakfast would be 
ready. Then he thought he could hear the sound 



150 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

of singing such as he had heard in the meetings, and 
he listened carefully. "I can not afford," he told 
himself, "to miss anything that pertains to the meet- 
ing." He found that the sound was coming from 
the tent near where he had spent the night, and, 
walking up to it, he quickly lifted the flap that served 
as a door. 

The tent was owned by Mr. Meyer, as was the 
wagon in which Edwin had spent the night, and 
the occupants of the tent, which were Mr. and Mrs. 
Kauffman, Mr. and Mrs. Gardner, and the Meyers, 
were having their morning worship together. To 
Edwin the little scene that met his gaze was a pleas- 
ant surprize; for he at once connected it with the 
prayer-meetings that had been held at the residence 
of his employer, as he recognized some of the people 
who had been at the meeting and whose counte- 
nances and earnestness in prayer he would never 
forget. 

The worship was over, and the song to which 
Edwin had listened had been intended for the clos- 
ing-song. Then they were to separate and each 
family go to their own tent for the morning meal. 
Edwin's appearance in the doorway changed their 
plans, and Mrs. Meyer, a dear old lady who had 
felt a deep interest in Edwin from the time she had 
first seen him in the prayer-meeting, arose and, offer- 



THE CAMP-MEETING 151 

ing her chair to Edwin, bade him enter and be 
seated, while she found a seat for herself on the foot 
of a temporary bed. Edwin needed no second invi- 
tation, for Mrs. Meyer had spoken in his mother- 
tongue, and he could understand what she said. 
Then she said, "Let us once more kneel down and 
pray," and they all knelt down, Edwin following 
the others' example. 

As they prayed, Edwin once more watched their 
faces and carefully listened to every word, but not 
a word could he understand. He knew that the 
people were praying, but he did not know that they 
were praying for him. 

So deeply was Edwin impressed with the ear- 
nestness of these people and so sincerely did he wish 
to join them in prayer, that he decided to watch 
carefully for small words that he could say regard- 
less of their meaning and to repeat such words as a 
prayer for himself. 

"If I take some words from a real prayer, they 
will be a part of a prayer, and it will not be as 
though I had learned the words from a book or from 
some person." 

Thus, in his ignorance he listened and reasoned, 
and when he had found three small words, mean- 
ingless in themselves, he began to repeat them in 
audible tones. The fact revealed to Edwin while 



152 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

working among the stones in the field of grass that 
God had made a provision whereby man could be 
able in this life to understand upon which road he 
was traveling toward eternity had never left him, 
and although he had not as yet discovered anything 
at all about God's great plan of salvation, he was 
still certain that as soon as he was converted he would 
discover all the things that he was longing to know. 
At that moment it seemed to Edwin that the only 
way to unravel Frank's definition of prayer and what 
it meant to be converted was to use some words from 
a real prayer until he could form a prayer of his 
own, and for this reason he had selected the three 
little words. 

God, as a "discerner of the thoughts and intents 
of the heart" (Heb. 4: 12), saw the sincerity of 
Edwin's purpose, and the little unintelligible words 
reached his throne as though they had been an 
eloquent prayer, and the more he prayed the more 
desperately in earnest did he become. 

Suddenly Edwin felt that his prayer must have 
taken hold on God, for a burden new and strange 
and different from anything that he had ever experi- 
enced seemed to settle down upon him, and as it 
grew heavier and heavier, he felt that he was being 
crushed to the earth. Then a feeling of unworthi- 
ness that even the earth should hold him up and 



THE CAMP-MEETING 153 

keep him from instant destruction in hell until God 
in his mercy would deliver him swept over him, and 
in his desperate condition he cried out until his voice 
was heard all over the camp-ground, and the people 
in crowds came to discover, if possible, what was 
taking place in Meyer's tent. 

Then a strange and wonderful thing occurred. 
Heaven in all its beauty seemed to open to his view, 
and as the great burden rolled away he sprang to 
his feet, and while leaping about the tent he shouted 
for joy and thanked God because he was at last sure 
that he was on the road to heaven. 

When at last Edwin could think about his sur- 
roundings, he saw that both "flaps" of the tent were 
open wide and that Mrs. Kauffman, Frank's 
mother, was earnestly preaching salvation from sin 
to an immense congregation. The latter had been 
drawn together by the sound of Edwin's agonizing 
cries, and although Edwin could not understand 
what she was saying, for she was speaking in the 
German language, he was sure that she was telling 
them of God's wonderful power and goodness to 
him. And as he looked about him, he wondered 
why the people and trees had never appeared so 
beautiful to him before. 

When the curiosity of the crowd had been satis- 
fied and Edwin was once more on the outside of the 



154 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

tent, he was surprized to find that all nature was 
beautified and that the songs of the birds were sweet- 
er and more thrilling than he had ever known them 
to be. In recovering from his state of rapture, he 
realized that only one half day of the camp-meet- 
ing was over and that he not only was converted but 
had all the remainder of the meeting before him. 
It was his blessed privilege to enjoy the remainder 
of the time with all the rest of God's good people. 

Such had been his breakfast, and when the meet- 
ing-bell began to ring, Edwin did not look for his 
interpreter; for he felt that since he had received 
that for which he had come to the meeting, it was 
no longer necessary to trouble Mr. Hass. 

The all-seeing Father not only had understood 
Edwin's ignorance and taught him his need, but had 
helped him to know how to approach his throne in 
an acceptable manner. 

"For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; 
the poor also, and him that hath no helper . . . 
and precious shall their blood be in his sight" (Psa. 
72: 12, 13). 



DISCOVERS THE EXISTENCE OF GOD'S WORD . 1 55 

CHAPTER XVIII 
Discovers the Existence of God's Word 

precious volume! only in thy pages 

We read the duty of all our race; 
Only thy sunbeams, shining through the ages, 

Reveal the wonders of saving grace. 

— D. S. Warner. 

Edwin had heard that there was such a book as 
the Bible, but that the Bible was a good book or 
of any more value in the world than the almanac or 
the "Book of Black Arts," that had been in the home 
of Mrs. Fitch, had never been suggested to his mind. 
So of course he did not know that the Bible was 
God's great message to the world. It was therefore 
a wonderful thought when the truth first dawned 
upon his mind. 

The little group that had been present at the 
time of his conversion were the first to explain the 
matter to him, and when Mrs. Kauffman added, in 
words that he could understand, that the Bible con- 
tained the story of Jesus, she found that he had never 
heard that there had ever been any one on the earth 
by that name. It was a long story, but after hearing 
a little, Edwin was anxious to hear the remainder, 



156 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

and when his kind friend had finished speaking, he 
asked simply, "Was Jesus God's son and yet a 
man just as I am?" 

"Yes," Mrs. KaufFman replied; "God made man 
in the first place, good and pure like himself, and 
he was made master of all that was in the world. 
In return for all these blessings, God demanded 
obedience and said that death to all the human 
race would be the penalty for his disobedience." 

Then she related that man yielded to sin and fell 
from the holy state in which he was created, receiv- 
ing as his penalty eternal banishment from God's 
presence, and she went on to tell of the provision that 
had been promised at the time of the fall. 

"For more than four thousand years," she said, 
"this awful blight of sin continued; then Jesus, the 
provision that God had promised, came into the 
world to live a life of perfect obedience to God. 
And God sent to all the world by his Son the mes- 
sage that any and all who would follow Christ's 
example and live as he had told them at the first to 
live, would be forgiven and with his Son would be- 
come a part of his own great family (Heb. 5 : 8, 9) . 
God in this way formed a bridge across the gulf 
that had been fixed between the sinner and his 
Maker. Now it is possible for any one who will, to 



DISCOVERS THE EXISTENCE OF GOD'S WORD 1 57 

cross the bridge and to enter heaven, but they must 
prepare for the journey before they die." 

"Is all that in the Bible?" Edwin asked in as- 
tonishment; "and is it so that God's Son once lived 
upon this earth?" 

"Yes, Edwin, it is true," Mrs. Kauffman an- 
swered. Then she read and explained Heb. 1:1-3 
and 5:8, 9: "God, who at sundry times and in 
divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers 
by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto 
us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all 
things, by whom also he made the worlds; who be- 
ing the brightness of his glory and the express image 
of his person, and upholding all things by the word 
of his power, when he had by himself purged our 
sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on 
high." "Though he were a Son, yet learned he 
obedience by the things which he suffered; and be- 
ing made perfect, he became the author of eternal 
salvation unto all them that obey him." 

She then told him that the place where Jesus had 
lived was far away from there, but that it was a 
country similar to our own. As she continued to 
talk about Jesus' home, Edwin exclaimed, "Oh, if 
only I could some time go and see that place for 
myself!" But when he thought of what such a 
trip would cost, his hope of ever getting there was 



158 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

destroyed. As Edwin considered the wonderful 
love that had prompted God and his Son to make 
so great a sacrifice for men and women who had been 
disobedient to his laws and commands, his heart was 
flooded with love for his Creator, and he cried : 

"I knew that God must have made some way for 
man to know where he was going to land in eternity ! 
Jesus is that provision. I can see it all now, and the 
assurance that we are going aright is that we are 
obedient to God?" he added with a rising inflection. 

"Yes, it is obedience to God," Mrs. Kauffman 
explained. "But there is more to his plan than that. 
God wants us to love and reverence his Son for all 
that he has done. To do this we must ask God to 
forgive and to receive us back into his family for 
Jesus' sake. This is a true prayer when it comes 
from the heart." 

"Is that the prayer that I prayed when I was con- 
verted?" Edwin asked, remembering the three little 
words that he had selected from one of the prayers 
in Mr. Meyer's tent. 

"No," Mrs. Kauffman replied ; "your prayer was 
different. It was really no prayer at all, but you 
see you did not understand these things or know 
how to pray. God knew what you wanted, because 
he understands the heart, and he knew that you 



DISCOVERS THE EXISTENCE OF GOD'S WORD 1 59 

would have asked for it in proper words if you could 
have understood." 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Kauffman were very good 
to Edwin; for after he had left their neighborhood, 
they had learned something of his worth. Every 
day during the meeting they endeavored in some way 
to help him to understand what it means to be a 
Christian, and some of the wonderful things that 
are in the Bible. Much of their effort was lost, how- 
ever, because of his ignorance, but it seemed that 
each time he was able to grasp a new thought that 
would correspond and link on to his own experience. 

When the last day of the camp-meeting arrived, 
Edwin was sorry, for he felt that it had been a good 
place to be; but since he had received the benefit 
for which he had come, he was ready to return to 
the farm and fulfil his agreement with Mr. Miller 
and do all that he could to make up for the time 
that he had been away at the meeting. The Kauff- 
mans, Itterlys, and Meyers had all given him press- 
ing invitations to visit them in their homes, and with 
many happy remembrances of the meeting in his 
mind he was soon well on his way down the dusty 
road in the direction of his employer's home. 

Again he noted the sweet songs of the little birds, 
and nature seemed all aglow with her beauty and 
grandeur; but as before, when he was on his way to 



160 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

the meeting, his mind was too full of weightier things 
to give outside things much thought or attention. 

As he passed in through the open gate, he remem- 
bered that Mrs. Kauffman had said that in a certain 
city not more than ten miles away a Bible could be 
purchased, and, knowing that Mr. Miller occa- 
sionally went to that city to do his trading, he de- 
cided to ask him to get him a copy while there. 

When he reached the summer-kitchen, he found 
the old couple partaking of their evening meal, and 
when Edwin had taken his accustomed place on the 
end of the bench, he was asked to give an account 
of the meeting and to tell how he had enjoyed him- 
self while there. It was in glowing terms that Edwin 
described each little detail and the effect that the 
entire meeting had produced in his life. When he 
had finished, Mrs. Miller remarked: 

"I'm glad, Edwin, that you have at last found 
out what it means to be converted. But of course 
you will have to join the church. You can go with 
us to our church every Sunday if you want to, and 
after you go a while they will tell you whether they 
want you to become a member." 

Edwin gladly accepted the invitation, and then 
after telling what Mrs. Kauffman had said about 
the Bible, he asked Mr. Miller if he would buy him 
a copy the next time he went to the city. The latter 



DISCOVERS THE EXISTENCE OF GOD's WORD 161 

said that he would do the best that he could. When 
the smoking-hour arrived, Edwin remained, but to 
visit, not to smoke. He cared no longer for his 
pipe, for the appetite for tobacco was all gone. 

Although Edwin was disappointed a number of 
times because of his employer's forgetfulness to do 
his errand, a few weeks after the camp-meeting had 
closed, a little red leather pocket Testament in both 
the German and English languages was placed in 
his hand, and what a treasure it was! The price 
that Edwin had paid for it seemed very small indeed, 
but he did not know that the little volume was only 
a part of the wonderful book of which he had heard 
such thrilling accounts. 

In the days that followed a great longing to read 
the sacred pages of his little Testament came into 
his heart, but even to have the little book in his pos- 
session was a great comfort, and very often he drew 
it from his pocket and pressed it to his heart while 
he was at his work. 

On Sunday, Edwin never failed to go with Mr. 
and Mrs. Miller to the little church that was on 
the corner where the roads met and crossed, and he 
was still as earnest and anxious to learn as he had 
been at the camp-meeting; but the difficulty of the 
language was ever before him, and his extreme ig- 
norance concerning the Bible was very noticeable. 



162 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

At last when the subject concerning whether he 
should be accepted as a candidate for a member of 
their denomination arose, a lengthy discussion among 
the most prominent brethren followed, and it was 
decided in Edwin's hearing that he was far too 
ignorant on Bible lines ever to amount to anything 
among them. It would therefore, they said, be best 
to drop the matter at once. 

"Think of it!" said one, "it doesn't stand to rea- 
son that any one with so little education and knowl- 
edge concerning the Bible could be so easily con- 
verted. He will be like a wave of the sea — lost and 
forgotten, in a very short time. Why, he can't 
even understand the preaching yet or the things that 
you try to explain to him ! To my mind his case isn't 
worth bothering with." 

After Edwin had heard this man's reasoning and 
had found that it was the decision of all, he was given 
an opportunity to speak for himself. He said: 

"I'm sure that you are mistaken when you say 
that I will not stand. I know that I am very ignor- 
ant about what is in the Bible, but if you will just 
give me ten years, I will prove to you that God, who 
has brought me through all my past difficulties, and 
in spite of all my ignorance has directed me always 
in the right way, will never fail to teach me the next 
best thing to do." 



DISCOVERS THE EXISTENCE OF GOD*S WORD 1 63 

After Edwin's speech it was decided that it would 
be all right for hirn to attend the meetings, but that 
they could not accept his name even on probation. 

It was with a sad heart the following day that 
Edwin went about his work upon the farm. He 
could not understand why the brethren had doubted 
his ability to stand nor their reason for not allowing 
him the same privilege that was given to others, sim- 
ply because he was ignorant and his conversion had 
not required so long a time as they were in the habit 
of allowing their more enlightened members. "God 
surely knew what he was doing," he reasoned, "and 
I believe that my life is as precious to him as that of 
any other man, though he may know a great deal 
more than I do." 

All day long he was burdened and sad, and when 
night came, instead of resorting to the summer- 
kitchen as had been his habit for so long, he went 
to his room immediately after the evening chores 
were done. Falling upon his knees and taking from 
his pocket his little red Testament, he opened it and 
laid it upon the chair before him. Then as tears 
blinded his eyes, he buried his face in his hands and, 
bending reverently over the little volume, made his 
request known to God. 

"O God!" he cried, not caring by whom he was 
heard, "you who have been so faithful to me in the 



164 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

past, in helping me out of all my difficulties, help 
me now! I have learned that this little book is to 
make me know what you want me to do, so help 
me to be able to read what is in it." 

To Edwin this task was no greater for him than 
others had been that he had mastered, and with 
perfect faith, believing that God would open his 
understanding sufficiently for him to comprehend the 
meaning of all that he needed to know, he began the 
work of learning what he should have known many 
years before. 

With his finger Edwin carefully traced in several 
words the outline of the letters, until suddenly a few 
of the characters that he had learned from the school- 
teacher when, in his early childhood days, he was 
sent to school as protector of his younger cousins, 
returned to his mind, and although they had been 
meaningless then and had been long since forgotten, 
they corresponded perfectly with those before him. 
Thus he continued to labor long into the night, and 
during the days and evenings that followed, when- 
ever there was a moment to spare, a moment that he 
could feel was his own, he endeavored to locate the 
same letters in other words. But although he could 
locate several of the letters, he did not know their 
names. 

Later on, after the corn-husking was done, Mr. 



DISCOVERS THE EXISTENCE OF GOD'S WORD 1 65 

Miller decided that he could get along with the work 
by himself, and Edwin began looking for another 
place. When the word became circulated that Ed- 
win was wanting a job, several opportunities to get 
into good families were offered him, but he would 
decide on none of them until he had spent a few 
weeks in visiting the kind friends whom he had met 
at the camp-meeting. 

During Edwin's stay with Mr. and Mrs. Miller, 
Edwin had learned to respect them very highly, and 
their kindness and sympathy meant very much to 
him, but he felt that he was sadly misunderstood by 
them both and that their judgment was not altogether 
good. He was sad, too, because of the attitude of 
the church-members toward him, but his only thought 
was to prove to all that he was sincere, and although 
so coldly held off by some he continued to attend 
the meetings regularly. 

On the morning of his departure, Mrs. Miller in 
her motherly way invited him to visit them occa- 
sionally, and after thanking them kindly for all their 
interest in him, Edwin left for the home of Mr. and 
Mrs. Kauffman. Frank Kauffman was at his 
mother's home when Edwin arrived, and when he 
saw the welcome that she gave to the one whom she 
had so severely condemned, because of the influence 
she was afraid he might have upon her son, he could 



166 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

not help smiling. He had heard that Edwin had 
given up the use of tobacco, and it was not long un- 
til he learned from Edwin himself his reasons for 
doing so. Frank was much impressed by the story 
and felt that perhaps Edwin was right about the mat- 
ter, and he would have been glad to give up the use 
of tobacco himself, but the power of habit was great, 
and the poisonous nicotine was so working in his 
system that his strength of decision was limited. 

Edwin's stay with the Kauffman's was prolonged 
to several months; for these people, finding that 
Edwin was so anxious to learn to read his Bible, 
began at the foundation and taught him both the 
English and the German alphabets and instructed 
him how to use them in forming words. Until then 
Edwin had not understood the difference in the lan- 
guages, and, finding that the words used in prayer 
and preaching, were not a heavenly language as he 
had supposed, but were meant for any one to speak, 
he decided at once to master them both. He rea- 
soned that what he could not comprehend in the 
one language he might in the other, and his progress 
in the undertaking was so rapid that it was mar- 
velous. 

When he learned that the Bible was in two parts 
— a New and an Old Testament — and that his lit- 
tle red-covered book was only the New, he longed 



DISCOVERS THE EXISTENCE OF GOD'S WORD 1 67 

for the complete volume and was soon in possession 
of one. 

"Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth: 
hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them 
that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy 
loving-kindness in the morning ; for in thee do I trust : 
cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; 
for I lift up my soul unto thee" (Psa. 143: 7, 8). 



168 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

CHAPTER XIX 
Devotion and Works 

Faith builds a bridge across the gulf of death, 
To break the shock blind nature can not shun, 
And lands thought smoothly on the further shore, 

— Young. 

During his visit in the Kauffman home, Edwin 
learned what was meant not only by prayer but by 
a life of true devotion, for Mrs. Kauffman was a 
very spiritual woman. She was sorry for the deci- 
sion of the brethren to refuse Edwin even a trial for 
membership in the church, but she endeavored to 
encourage him in the belief that all would come out 
right in the end, and Edwin very courageously said 
that he was sure it would. And the fact that he 
was misunderstood by some did not lessen his con- 
fidence in the brethren nor cool his intense love for 
humanity. Neither did it dampen his desire to be 
a blessing to mankind, and so great did the latter 
longing become that he began to seek for oppor- 
tunities of doing good. 

By living in such sweet communion with God he 
learned a great many lessons that were very helpful 
to him in different ways ; and with a little help from 



DEVOTION AND WORKS 169 

his kind friends he learned to read in such a mar- 
velously short time that it was plain to all that God 
was truly his teacher. 

One day while Edwin was quietly meditating 
upon the wonderful things that he had read within 
the Bible, he compared them with the experiences 
through which he had passed, and he marveled at 
the manner in which they corresponded. Then, 
while thinking of what had taken place at the camp- 
meeting, he remembered his mother and his surprize 
at seeing her at such a place. "Could it be possible," 
he said to Mrs. Kauffman, "that my mother's reason 
for attending the meeting was that she was inter- 
ested in spiritual things?" His friends thought it 
was probable, and then Edwin said that if such 
was the case he would like to tell her about some of 
the wonderful things God had done for him. In 
this Mrs. Kauffman encouraged him, and she helped 
him to find several appropriate passages of Scripture 
that he could read to his mother, and when he went 
she bade him Godspeed. 

Edwin had not visited his mother since the time 
when her proud heart was crushed because of the 
shame and disgrace that had been forced upon her 
through Elmer's actions. Since then many things 
had taken place in her life that had caused her to 
change some of her ways, but the "faith" that she 



170 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

claimed to have taken up and that had encouraged 
her to attend the camp-meeting was only a "try to 
do better" plan. 

When Mrs. Fischer saw her son approaching the 
house, she at once remembered his ignorance at the 
camp-meeting, the ridicule created by his queer ac- 
tions, and the hard feelings that, in her embarrass- 
ment, she had felt toward him ; still, she endeavored 
to treat him kindly, and at first she permitted him to 
talk freely about his experiences before and after 
the meeting. But when in conclusion, he said, 
"Mother, can't you see how necessary it is for any 
one to be converted, or to be born again into God's 
great family?" she exclaimed: "Oh, such trash! 
I won't listen any longer! I've committed no sins 
that I need to repent of. My * faith' is good enough 
for me, and I don't expect to know everything about 
heaven in this life. The church that I have joined 
teaches that if you do as well as you can you'll go 
to heaven anyway, and after you have pledged any 
church that you will stand by it and then you go and 
join another and take up their * faith,' you become a 
shame and disgrace to the church to which you did 
belong." 

"Yes, but you may not get to heaven if you do 
not anxiously seek to know the right way," Edwin 
said, and the earnestness in his voice could be felt. 



DEVOTION AND WORKS 171 

Then opening his Bible, which was already well 
marked, he read: "Wisdom crieth without; she 
uttereth her voice in the streets : she crieth in the chief 
place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in 
the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, 
ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity ? and the scorn- 
ers delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowl- 
edge? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will 
pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my 
words unto you. Because I have called and ye 
refused; ... I also will laugh at your calamity; 
I will mock when your fear cometh. . . . Then 
shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they 
shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: for 
that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the 
fear of the Lord; they would none of my counsel: 
they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they 
eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with 
their own devices. For the turning away of the 
simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools 
shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me 
shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of 
evil" (Prov. 1:20-33). 

That his mother was surprized to hear Edwin 
reading the words was very plain to be seen, but 
her spirit was still proud, and she cried: "No, Ed- 
win, I won't listen to any more. Those words are 



172 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

in the Old Testament, I know, but they were writ- 
ten for the people who lived at that time, and not 
for us. The New Testament is for us." 

"Well, then, Mother," Edwin said, quickly turn- 
ing to the third chapter of St. John, "let me read to 
you something from the New Testament, some of the 
words of God's own Son to all the world. Jesus 
was talking to a man who was a teacher and very 
wise, but he told him that the only way to get to 
heaven was to be born again, for he said: 'That 
which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is 
born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said 
unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind blow- 
eth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound 
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and 
whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the 
Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, 
How can these things be? Jesus answered . . . 
God so loved the world that he gave his only be- 
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent 
not his Son into the world to condemn the world; 
but that the world through him might be saved.' 
And now, Mother," Edwin said, "here is the part 
that I want you to listen to especially : 'He that be- 
lieveth on him is not condemned: but he that be- 
lieveth not is condemned already, because he hath 



DEVOTION AND WORKS 173 

not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of 
God. And this is the condemnation, that light is 
come into the world, and men loved darkness rather 
than light, because their deeds were evil. For every- 
one that doeth evil hateth the light,, neither cometh 
to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But 
he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds 
may be made manifest, that they are wrought in 

God; - 

The reading of the last scripture had been more 
difficult for Edwin, but he had reviewed the words 
so often under the direction of Mr. Kauffman, who 
had taken a keen interest and delight in the manner 
in which Edwin was learning, that he was able to 
read them both plainly and distinctly. But still 
his mother said: 

"That, too, was long ago. Things are different 
today. You needn't try to tell me that what the 
people did and said at that time were anything like 
what they say and do today." 

Then as Edwin attempted to explain, she said : 

44 No, Edwin, you must not say anything more to 
me about these things. I'm satisfied to let well enough 
alone; and if I'm contented, you ought to be." 

Seeing that his mother was determined to con- 
tinue in her uncertainty, Edwin next thought of his 



174 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

own brother and sister in the flesh, whom he had 
never seen. Th rough his mother he had found out 
where they were living, and although it was a long 
distance to their homes and they were as strangers 
to him, he decided to visit them and at once set out 
upon the journey. 

The brother had heard through the mother some 
things about Edwin's stupidity, as she called his 
extreme ignorance (for which she was herself to 
blame), and he had also heard of Edwin's willing- 
ness to suffer cruel punishments and unjust blame. 
"But," the mother had also said, "with all his block- 
headedness, he has never done anything to compare 
with what Elmer, his cousin, has done to make me 
ashamed." 

It was therefore with real interest and curiosity 
that the brother received him into his home, and he 
was shown much kindness by his brother's wife. 
When Edwin explained how wondrously he had 
been led and taught of God, the brother was aston- 
ished, for he could see that all Edwin had said was 
very reasonable and sensible, and he wondered why 
he had never thought to search out some of the 
things for himself. The brother's wife as well was 
greatly interested, and when Edwin read and ex- 
plained the verses from his well-marked Bible, they 
were both convicted and exclaimed : 



DEVOTION AND WORKS 175 

"O Edwin! what must we do to get this great 
salvation?" 

Immediately Edwin turned to Acts 1 6 : 30, 3 1 , 
and read the jailer's words to Paul and Silas, "Sirs, 
what must I do to be saved?" and Paul's answer, 
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt 
be saved, and thy house." He then explained that 
Jesus came to seek and save the people from their 
sins and that he went about preaching the glad tid- 
ings of salvation, after which he gave his life upon 
the cross that their salvation might be possible. 

Next he read Isa. 55: 6, 7: "Seek ye the Lord 
while he may be found, call ye upon him while he 
is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the 
unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return 
unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; 
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." 

"To forsake sin," Edwin explained, "is to stop 
doing anything that one knows to be wrong, like 
stealing, lying, swearing," and he named over a 
number of other things. "By the power of the will 
it is possible for any who have formed such habits to 
stop doing the things that are wrong, but before a 
person can really be delivered from sin, he must 
be very sorry for having disobeyed God. That sor- 
row is repentance if the person is sorry enough to ask 



1 76 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

God to forgive him and to cleanse him from all un- 
righteousness." 

Edwin did not tell them that it had always been 
his desire to do to others as he would be done by, 
for to him this had been only his privilege and duty 
to mankind, and he fully realized that before he was 
converted he was, with all the rest of humanity, in a 
sense separated from God. Instead he said: 

"You must think of God's goodness," and he 
read: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are 
heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my 
yoke upon you, and learn of me ; for I am meek and 
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest to your souls. 
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." And 
then he read Heb. 10:39: "But we are not of 
them who draw back unto perdition; but of them 
that believe to the saving of the soul." 

"O Edwin!" his brother cried, "why is it that we 
have never heard of these things before? Surely 
God has sent you to us." 

As a large revival was being held in the city at 
that time, they all decided to attend, and at the meet- 
ing and with Edwin's help the brother and his wife 
were gloriously saved. 

When the meeting was over, Edwin was urged to 
prolong his stay. This he did, and he spent a few 
weeks very profitably in helping his relatives to be- 



DEVOTION AND WORKS 177 

come established and to learn how to study the Bible 
that had so long been only an ornament in their 
home. 

His sister also was deeply impressed with the 
wonderful things that God had done for Edwin, but 
she was the mother of several small children, and her 
life was such that she thought that she was unable 
to make the necessary sacrifices. Edwin read to her 
from the seventh chapter of Matthew these words 
of Jesus: "Whosoever heareth these sayings of 
mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise 
man, which built his house upon a rock: and the 
rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds 
blew, and beat upon that house ; and it fell not : for 
it was founded upon a rock." Then he explained 
to her about the house that fell, but she only an- 
swered: "No, Edwin, it is of no use. I can not live 
it now," and thus Edwin left her feeling her need 
but unwilling to yield. 

From his sister's home Edwin returned to Mrs. 
Kauffman's, where he was again treated with the 
greatest affection and respect. As he told of his 
experiences, his kind friends were deeply interested 
as well as astonished at the manner in which he had 
succeeded in his brother's home, and Mrs. Kauffman 
thanked God for so wonderfully answering prayer. 

Learning that Edwin was again in the neighbor- 



178 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

hood, the farmers with whom he was acquainted 
did their best to engage him to work for them, but 
to all he said : "No, not yet. I have not satisfied my 
mind. I am still a guest in the home of Mrs. Kauff- 
man, and since they are satisfied to have me stay, 
I think that there must be more things that God 
would teach me from his Word, so I will study my 
Bible for a while longer." 

Baptism was the next subject that bothered him. 
During his recent visit with his mother he had 
learned from her that, as an infant, before he was 
taken to the poorhouse, he was baptized ; but he had 
read in his Bible, "He that believeth and is bap- 
tized, shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). "No infant 
could believe or reason anything about the Lord 
Jesus," he told Mrs. Kauffman, and he asked her 
advice about having the work done again. 

"You had better go to your minister and ask him 
what he thinks," Mrs. Kauffman said. Edwin im- 
proved the very first opportunity, which happened 
to be the following Sunday immediately after the 
morning service. Replying to him, the minister 
asked : 

"Don't you think the baptism in your infancy 
amounted to anything?" 

"I don't know," Edwin answered cautiously. 
"That is what I came to see you about. The Bible 



DEVOTION AND WORKS 179 

says, *He that believeth and is baptized,' and I'm 
sure that I didn't know enough at that time to *be- 
lieve' anything, and the way that I understand that 
verse is that I am to be baptized after I am con- 
verted." 

"Well, then," said the minister, "if you do not 
feel satisfied, I will, at some convenient season, at- 
tend to the matter." 

For several weeks Edwin anxiously waited for 
the "convenient season" ; then on entering the chapel 
one Sunday morning, he noticed on a stand beside 
the altar a large bowl of water, and he wondered 
if it was in any way connected with his baptism. He 
was not kept long in suspense, for immediately after 
the morning exercises he was requested by the min- 
ister to come forward and to take his seat upon the 
altar. Edwin quickly obeyed, and the minister, 
after a short ceremony, took the bowl in his hand 
and with his fingers sprinkled a little of the water 
upon Edwin's head. 

To Edwin it was a very solemn affair, for he was 
very sincere. At the close of the ordinance the 
minister said, "Now, whether you consider that your 
other baptism amounted to anything or not, I hope 
that your doubts will be forever gone." At the time 
Edwin thought they were, but later on when he 
read, "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye 



180 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

are risen with him through faith of the operation of 
God, who hath raised him from the dead" (Col. 
2:12), he thought that to be really baptized meant 
more than merely to have a little water sprinkled 
upon his head; and when he considered that John 
baptized people in the river Jordan and that Jesus, 
his example, walked down into the water, saying, 
"Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to 
fulfil all righteousness," and that when Jesus came 
up out of the water the voice from heaven said, 
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
pleased" (Matt 3: 15, 17), he felt that he should 
like to go down into the water as though he had 
been buried from the sight of the world just as his 
Savior had done. 

As was his custom when perplexed over such 
problems, he went to Mrs. Kauffman that he might 
have the benefit of her judgment. She advised him 
to go to a body of people that believed in immersion 
and be baptized by their minister. Edwin followed 
her direction, and as soon as possible he was put 
under the water as a testimony to the world that he 
was dead to sin. 

Thus, day by day God in his wisdom continued to 
be Edwins teacher in the deep as well as in the 
simple things of life until the wisdom of the poor- 



DEVOTION AND WORKS 181 

house waif was in many things far beyond that of 
many who professed to be leaders of men. 

"For his God doth instruct him to discretion and 
doth teach him" (Isa. 28:26). 

"Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and 
I shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, 
and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it 
with my whole heart." "Stablish thy word unto 
thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear" (Psa. 119: 
33,34,38). 



182 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

CHAPTER XX 
Called to Service 

Walk 
Boldly and wisely in that light thou hast; 
There is a hand above will help thee on. 

—Bailey. 

When Edwin heard of the heathen in other lands 
across the sea, a great longing to help them to under- 
stand God's love and to bear them the message of 
Jesus' mission to the earth came into his heart. So 
great did this longing become that he spoke of it to 
the brethren at the church, but he was told that it 
would be better to first prove his calling at home, 
for there were plenty of heathen all around him 
needing his help. 

Without criticism or feelings that he had been 
dealt with unwisely, he accepted this judgment as 
proper and right, and at once began by seeking for 
opportunity to talk about his experiences with both 
neighbors and friends. In this way he made his 
efforts for doing good to count, and he became per- 
sonally acquainted with the greater part of the com- 
munity. Mr. and Mrs. Kauffman, seeing Edwin's 
zeal and courage, were surprized and pleased, and, 



CALLED TO SERVICE 183 

taking note of the good he was accomplishing, of- 
fered him the privilege of holding prayer-meetings 
in their home. Soon others gave him the same op- 
portunity, and it was evident that God was using 
him even to the saving of a few souls. 

As Edwin continued to grasp every opportunity 
for usefulness, the brethren who had refused to ac- 
cept him as a candidate for membership in their 
church, became anxious to have him enroll, but Ed- 
win told them: "No, my ten years are not yet up. 
You must remember that I told you I wanted that 
long to prove to you that I could stand and that I 
am truly converted." 

When Edwin felt that he could spare the time 
from studying the Bible and doing spiritual work, 
to resume his labors as a farm-hand, he found that 
it required no effort to find a place, as all seemed to 
know of his ability and willingness to work. There 
was even contention among the farmers as to who 
would be so fortunate as to secure his services. 

Finding out the true state of affairs, Edwin was 
pleased, and he decided to divide his time among 
them. In this way he was able to enter other homes 
and lives and to help them spiritually as well as with 
his labor. But through all this service Edwin was 
not without various trials and tests ; but in every- 
thing he was able to give God thanks and to draw 



184 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

useful lessons. "For thou, O Lord, hast proved us: 
thou hast tried us as silver is tried*' (Psa. 16:10). 

After a time Edwin felt that he would like for 
at least a while to try city life. Finding a man that 
was engaged in peddling spring-water, he agreed 
to work for him for a share of the income. The 
business did not prove to be a profitable one for Ed- 
win, but by very careful management he was able 
to make both ends meet. But when he had met 
his necessary expenses, he had nothing left that he 
could use for the work of the Lord. 

This soon became a great trial to Edwin, and 
when one Sunday there was a call (in the new 
church he was attending in the city) for a liberal 
amount of money, he felt that he must subscribe 
twenty-five dollars even though he did not know how 
he could ever pay it. He believed that in some 
way or other he would be able to raise the money 
even though the time allowed for paying it was only 
one month. "God will help me in this thing as he 
has helped me through all my other difficulties," he 
said as he set out on Monday morning in his covered 
wagon to dispose of his bottled water. 

At first the sales were as they had been on other 
days, but along in the afternoon they began to in- 
crease, and when night came and he had time to 
figure up the amount of the water sold, he found 



CALLED TO SERVICE 185 

that there was over and above all his expenses five 
dollars extra to his credit. For four successive days 
this increase of sales continued, until he had four 
five-dollar bills laid aside. 

On Friday morning Edwin started with a glad 
heart; for he thought, "If only I succeed today as 
well as I have been doing all week, by this evening 
I shall have the amount I subscribed." He ex- 
pressed his gratitude in thanksgiving and praise to 
God. To his great disappointment, that day the 
extra amount of water was not sold, and on Satur- 
day and Sunday he did not peddle. Climbing into 
his covered wagon filled with bottles, he started out 
for his boarding-place; but he was not in the least 
discouraged, for he was sure that the remainder of 
the money would be raised in some unexpected man- 
ner before the month was up. 

Scarcely had Edwin dismissed the matter from 
his mind when he came to an electric-car crossing. 
It was a dangerous place, for a few feet above the 
crossing the track was completely hidden from view 
by a large ledge of rock and a sudden curve. At 
this place Edwin always listened carefully for a 
signal. Hearing nothing and knowing that the car 
had been due fully ten minutes before, he was soon 
driving upon the track without any thought of dan- 
ger, as he had so often done before. His surprize 



186 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

was therefore complete when, just as the back wheels 
of the wagon were dropping heavily over the last 
rail, there was a sudden breeze and whiz came the 
car around the curve. No warning whatever had 
been given, and a second later Edwin found himself 
among the legs and hoofs of the faithful animal that 
he had been driving. 

It was indeed a narrow escape, and as Edwin 
crept from his dangerous position he found that not 
only his horse but his wagon and load of bottles were 
upside down and that the conductor and motorman 
were by his side inquiring of him how badly he was 
hurt. 

Edwin himself was uninjured, and after the har- 
ness had been loosened, the horse was able to rise, 
and when the wagon and bottles were examined, it 
was found that nothing was at all harmed. But be- 
fore Edwin was again on his seat in the wagon, the 
conductor had taken his name and address. 

As he drove away from the scene of the accident 
Edwin was rejoicing in the fact that he had escaped 
so well, and with no thought of ever hearing any 
more about the affair he was soon putting his things 
away for the night. In the morning, therefore, he 
was greatly surprized when he was called to the 
door and by the same conductor that had the even- 
ing before taken his name and address was handed 



CALLED TO SERVICE 187 

an envelope and told that the contents were his be- 
cause of the accident that had occurred the evening 
before at the crossing. Edwin tried to explain that 
no harm had been done to anything, but the con- 
ductor replied that the blame was his because he had 
given no signal, "But,** he continued, "it will al- 
ways be a mystery in my mind how such an accident 
could occur without a single injury to anything." 

Then the conductor went away, and when Edwin 
opened the envelope, he found that it contained just 
five dollars, the exact amount that he needed to com- 
plete his purpose-money. One week out of the four 
had not yet passed, and yet he had the full amount 
of his obligation. And when, on Sunday morning, 
he carried the money to the church and told of the 
wonderful manner in which it had been supplied 
(for indeed it was wonderful), many marveled. 

In the city Edwin continued to do all in his power 
for the Lord as he had done in the country, and 
just about two years from the time that he attended 
his first prayer-meeting in the home of Mrs. Miller, 
he received an urgent invitation from Mr. and Mrs. 
Kauffman to return to their home and hold a series 
of revival meetings; "for'* said the letter, "our house 
and all that we possess are turned over to the Lord, 
and we feel that you have proved yourself suffic- 
iently to come and be our minister.'* 



188 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

To Edwin the privilege of holding the meeting 
and the confidence of these people meant very much 
indeed, but he still felt keenly his inability of doing 
anything in his own strength. To think of himself 
as a preacher he did not, for God at that time had 
not revealed to him his calling in life. Still, he sub- 
mitted the matter entirely to the Lord, and when the 
way was opened for him to go he was glad to accept 
the opportunity. As a result there was a wonderful 
revival; for Mr. and Mrs. Kauffman did their best 
to have the meetings advertised, and as Edwin's 
present, and early history as well, was well known 
throughout the country, the people for miles around, 
many of them out of curiosity, however, came to see 
if what they had been hearing about Edwin as a 
Christian was true. 

When the meeting closed, Edwin had in the 
minds of the people proved himself to be a real min- 
ister of the gospel, and arrangements were soon 
made to buy a piece of ground and to build a small 
meeting-house. The idea was sanctioned by Edwin, 
and he saw it carried into effect, but when they 
begged him to stay as their pastor, he refused. "It 
is better," he said, "for you to get some one else to 
be your leader until I know positively that God has 
set me apart for that work" ; and referring them to a 
certain brother who claimed to be a minister, he 



CALLED TO SERVICE 189 

left them in his charge and returned to the city 
where he had been peddling water. 

Edwin's object in leaving the community in which 
he had been holding the meetings was that he might 
have a better opportunity to know positively whether 
or not God had really called him to preach the gos- 
pel. His first duty, therefore, after arriving in the 
city was to go to the minister for advice and counsel. 
After confiding his desire to work for the Lord and 
the manner in which he had been used in the meet- 
ing, he was told: "There are many who mistake 
their calling in life. Sometimes the enemy of souls 
puts such feelings in the heart to mislead honest 
souls, or to get them out of God's order." And the 
minister related an instance of a young man who 
had once come to him just as Edwin had come for 
advice. "Seeing his earnestness, I gave the fellow 
a chance to prove himself, but it was found that he 
had no gift or ability at all to teach. In fact, he did 
so poorly in all public work that he was forced to 
confess that he was really mistaken. After that he 
never wanted to preach again, and it was even diffi- 
cult for him to testify." 

"Well," Edwin answered, "if it is the enemy in 
my case, I will have no trouble to get rid of this feel- 
ing, for I shall only be too glad to know that I am 
misled. All I want to know is what God wants me 



190 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

to do. If he doesn't want me to preach, that is the 
last thing I would care to do." 

From that moment Edwin ignored the thought of 
preaching, and while he applied himself to his man- 
ual labor, he endeavored to forget all about his use- 
fulness during the revival. And as he was thus 
striving with himself, the minister in whom Edwin 
had confided, desiring to know if there was any- 
thing to Edwin's convictions, paid a visit to the com- 
munity in which Edwin had held the revival. 
Several months had passed, but the fire was still 
burning in the hearts of the people (although the one 
left in charge of them had done more harm than 
good), and as the minister listened to the glowing 
accounts of Ed win's works among them and the 
good that had been accomplished through his labors, 
he was forced to change his mind. "God's hand must 
surely be on that man for service," was his secret 
thought, and on the Sunday morning following his 
tour of investigation he brought the matter before the 
church. 

Nearly the entire congregation with the exception 
of Edwin were present, and as the minister related 
carefully and in detail what had taken place recently 
in the community where Edwin had been so "strange- 
ly" converted and had formerly made his home, he 
added that only the wisdom and power of the Holy 



CALLED TO SERVICE 191 

Spirit could have enabled him to accomplish such a 

work. "There is no doubt now in my mind," he 

continued, "that God's hand is upon the young man 

for the ministry; for his moral character is without 

spot and blameless in the eyes of all who know him, 

and he is well known and respected throughout the 

country for this and because of his unusual conver- 

»♦ 
sion. 

In that meeting it was decided that it would be 
best to have another talk with Edwin before he was 
encouraged to preach. When the minister went to 
him, it was with these words: 

"Edwin, do you still feel your desire to preach 
the gospel?" 

"Oh yes," Edwin answered. "Since talking with 
you, I have tried in every way to get rid of the 
thought of preaching, if it was not God's will for me 
to preach, but the burden is only growing heavier. 
I have submitted the matter to you and the church, 
however, to decide for me, and I know that God 
knows the same ; so I can quietly trust him until you 
tell me what you think would be best for me to do." 

"Are you still fully agreed to allow the church to 
consider the matter for you?" Edwin was then 
asked. 

"Oh yes, sir!" he quickly replied. "I have sub- 
mitted everything into your hands, for I want to 



192 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

know just what you consider is best. I will be per- 
fectly satisfied either way it may go. I am not anx- 
ious; for I know that if God really wants me to 
preach he will take care of it all and will work every- 
thing out in his own good time and way. If he does 
not work it out so that I am considered capable of 
preaching, then I shall take it for granted that it was 
a suggestion of the enemy, and I will take a vehe- 
ment stand against those feelings as an imposition 
of the enemy. Now, I consider what I have said is 
sufficient, and it will be no trial for me, for I shall 
feel that I am in God's order, and I care for nothing 
else." 

When the minister heard Edwin's humble answer 
and noted his willingness to allow God to have his 
perfect way with him and compared his manner with 
the many remarkable reports to which he had lis- 
tened concerning his experiences, he was more con- 
vinced than ever that God's hand for service was 
surely upon this devoted young man. But he felt 
that since the thing had been left for the church to 
decide, he must in Edwin's absence once more place 
the subject before the congregation. 

The time chosen was the following Sunday. 
When the minister asked for an expression from the 
people concerning Edwin's case, with one united 
vote they said that they were perfectly agreed to 



CALLED TO SERVICE 193 

accept Edwin as a minister, provided he could prove 
his gift. It was therefore decided that since they 
had never heard him preach, they would call him in 
and let him deliver the morning sermon; and severe 
as was the test, it was carried out. 

When Edwin a few minutes later entered the 
room and looked over that large audience, he had 
not the faintest idea of preaching to the people. His 
only thought was to learn what their decision had 
been, and his surprize was therefore complete when 
the almost painful hush that prevaded the room was 
broken by the request that he take the pulpit and 
assume full charge of the meeting that morning. 

Had it not been that Edwin already knew the 
Lord to be an unfailing source of strength and an 
able helper in every time of need, his courage might 
have failed him, for upon the rostrum were several 
ministers and gospel workers. Instead, he instantly 
submitted the matter to the Lord, and, forgetting 
about his ignorance, he rejoiced that he could have 
an opportunity to glorify God and took his position 
between God and poor blighted humanity. 

"Let us pray,'* were his first words, and, falling 
upon his knees, he poured out his heart in fervent 
prayer to God, asking him for help and divine guid- 
ance in this, his great hour of need. While still upon 
his knees he was given a text, and, rising to his feet, 



194 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

he opened his Bible, turned to Luke 7:47, and read, 
"Her sins, which were many, are forgiven; for she 
loved much.*' 

Then as he explained the meaning of the words, 
his eyes became blinded by tears. As he lost sight of 
his audience, the Holy Spirit came to his rescue, and 
as the words poured forth from his* mouth, it was 
evident to all that the sermon was given him by 
divine power. So lost to himself and the opinions of 
others did he become that he seemed to be swim- 
ming out into the vast ocean of God's boundless love. 

That God was glorified and his name honored 
it is needless to say, and from that time Edwin was 
accepted without question as a gifted and qualified 
minister of the gospel, and his calls both in his home 
community and in other places were many. He 
was even preferred above other able ministers be- 
cause of his strange and wonderful experiences. 

As Edwin continued to preach, he remembered 
how hard it had been for him to understand that 
there were other languages than his own mother 
tongue, and he prepared himself to preach not only 
in the German and the English languages, but in 
Pennsylvania Dutch as well. 

While studying his Bible he found that there was 
even healing virtue in prayer. In James 5:14, 15, 
he read, "Is any sick among you? let him call for 



CALLED TO SERVICE 195 

the elders of the church ; and let them pray over him, 
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord : and 
the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord 
shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, 
they shall be forgiven him." In his own case he 
had found this to be true. God had not only healed 
his soul's sickness but also removed his bodily af- 
flictions. Finding that he could receive such in- 
stant relief for himself, he was soon exercising his 
gift for others, and many were healed through his 
earnest prayers. 

In one place where he was preaching, he made 
his home with a family in which there were two 
small children, a girl three years old and a boy 
about one year younger. To these children Edwin 
soon became greatly attached, and their love for 
him was no less than his own. Once when Edwin 
was away for a few days holding a series of meet- 
ings, the little boy became seriously ill with pneu- 
monia. The parents, who knew the worth of prayer 
in time of sickness, took his case at once to their 
Great Physician; but although they prayed very 
earnestly, their prayers seemed to be of no avail, for 
the child grew constantly worse. A number of the 
brethren were repeatedly called in to pray for little 
Charley, but the child grew constantly worse until 
it seemed that it would be a question only of a few 



196 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

hours until he would be called into eternity. Finally 
the mother said, "If Edwin were only here, I be- 
lieve that the child would be healed/* but Edwin 
did not even know that little Charley was ill. 

At last the parents, while gazing down upon the 
little unconscious form burning with fever, gave up 
all hope of his recovery, consecrated their child 
afresh, and submitted their own wishes in the matter 
to the One who had lent them the darling. Then 
they seemed to see upon the fevered brow the angel 
touch of death, and the troubled spirit of little Char- 
ley, moaning piteously, appeared to be preparing 
for its upward flight to a better world. 

Feeling that there was nothing more that they 
could do, the brethren had taken their departure, but 
only a short distance from the house they met Edwin 
returning unexpectedly from his trip. Had Edwin 
endeavored to do so, he could not have told them 
why he was coming just at that hour, but something 
seemed to bid him hasten, for his presence was need- 
ed. From the brethren he learned of the child's 
illness, and, hurrying into the house, he was soon be- 
side the parents, who were still weeping over their 
little one. 

As Edwin looked down upon the face of the one 
whom he so dearly loved, the words, "The prayer 
of faith shall save the sick" (Jas. 5: 16), appeared 



CALLED TO SERVICE 197 

to be all that he could see or hear. He went hur- 
riedly to the door and called loudly to the brethren 
and bade them return at once. Fortunately, the lat- 
ter had been walking slowly, for their hearts were 
troubled because of their neighbor's distress, so they 
heard the sound of Edwin's voice calling to them, 
and they immediately retraced their steps. 

The little group, with the addition of Edwin, once 
more gathered around the child's crib. As Edwin 
knelt he clasped his own hands and raised them be- 
fore him; then with upturned face and pleading 
tones, he asked God, for Jesus' sake, to heal little 
Charley. 

For several minutes he prayed, and in his earnest- 
ness his body swayed backward and forward, and 
tears flowed freely over his cheeks. When the 
prayer was ended, and Edwin opened his eyes to 
look about him, to his great surprize and joy he saw 
before him upon the floor the little child with his 
hands clasped and raised as Edwin's had been and 
his large blue eyes turned heavenward. He too was 
praying, trying to imitate Edwin's example. At the 
very first of the prayer when Edwin's voice arose, 
the child regained consciousness and, seeing his 
friend upon his knees beside him, he had begged his 
mother to allow him to "p\vay" too. Lifting him 
tenderly from the crib, the mother had placed him 



198 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

carefully upon the floor. From that moment little 
Charley was well, and soon called for some food. 

At another time, when Edwin was holding a 
meeting about seventy-five miles from this home, the 
little girl became seriously ill. "Have Edwin pway ! 
have Edwin pway!" was all they could hear from 
little Charley; so a letter bearing the news and tell- 
ing the nature of the child's illness was posted as 
soon as possible. When the word reached Edwin, 
he went to his room and there remained before the 
Lord until he felt that his little friend was healed. 
When another letter came from' the mother, it 
brought the word that the little girl was healed, and 
the day and hour that the work was done agreed 
perfectly with the time when God had witnessed to 
Edwin in his room that the child was healed. 

A few days after the healing of the little girl Ed- 
win received still another letter. This time it was 
from the wife of a certain man for whom Edwin had 
worked and whose confidence he had won before 
God called him to preach. "Please pray for my 
husband," the letter ran. "He is in the hospital 
with a cancerous sore upon his right leg. The doc- 
tors give him no hopes that he will recover, but 
we have not forgotten how often God has heard your 
prayers, and we believe that if you will pray for him 



CALLED TO SERVICE 199 

he will recover. There is no earthly remedy that 
can help him." 

Edwin remembered the old gentleman well, and 
he went out in the woods where he could be alone 
and prayed earnestly a long time for the man, but 
he received no answer or impression that the work 
was done. For three successive days Edwin went 
alone to the woods to pray. On the third day he 
felt that the man would recover, and immediately 
he mailed a letter to the lady to that effect. 

When the message was received and read to the 
sick husband, the faith of both him and his wife were 
increased and strengthened, and they too believed 
that he would soon be well. From that very hour 
there was a change in the man's condition, and the 
sore began at once to heal. When the nurses came 
to dress the sore, they were astonished at the change, 
and the doctors confessed that it was a mystery too 
deep for them to fathom, but to Edwin it was only 
another blessing from the Lord. 

"And when he had called unto him his twelve 
disciples, he gave them power against unclean spir- 
its, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sick- 
ness and all manner of disease" (Matt. 10: 1 ). 

"For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on 
him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference 
between the Jew and the Greek : for the same Lord 



200 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For 
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord 
shall be saved. . . . How beautiful are the feet 
of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring 
glad tidings of good things!" (Rom. 10: 11-15). 



DISCOVERS GOD'S CHURCH 201 

CHAPTER XXI 
Discovers God's Church 

Church of God, thou spotless bride. 

On Jesus' breast secure! 
No stains of sin in thee abide, 

Thy garments all are pure; 
Of unity and holiness 

Thy gentle voice doth sing, 
Of purity and lowliness 

Thy songs of triumph ring. 

— Brooks. 

A number of years had passed since Edwin be- 
gan preaching, and in the suburbs of a large city 
where the houses were numbered in groups of twos 
and threes, there was a certain quiet dwelling that 
could not help attracting the notice of the passer- 
by; for the place, surrounded as it was by a pretty 
grassy lawn with a few choice flowers scattered here 
and there, disclosed the fact that the occupants of 
the cottage were lovers of the beautiful. 

Through an open window a song of praise was 
floating, and upon the face of the fair and noble 
young woman within could be read happiness, con- 
tentment, and love. She was busying herself about 
the stove, for she was Edwin's wife, and she was 



202 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

preparing her husband's evening meal. God not 
only had raised the poorhouse waif above his diffi- 
culties, but had given him in addition a good Chris- 
tian companion to comfort and encourage him. 

A smile and a cheerful word were Edwin's greet- 
ing when he returned from the post-office. Seating 
himself in the large comfortable chair that had been 
placed by loving hands close beside the window, he 
began at once to examine the mail. There were 
several letters, which were each read in turn; but 
when ELdwin came to the paper, his face wore a puz- 
zled expression, for the latter was not his own. 

"I guess a mistake has been made somehow at 
the post-office," he said, "for this paper belongs to 
another person; but I see that the wrapper is loose, 
and I suppose it will be all right for me to slip it off 
and look the paper over, for that's what I hope the 
other fellow will do with mine." Then as he pro- 
ceeded to unfold the large religious periodical, he 
remarked, "I haven't yet found a paper that can 
come up to our own, and we can rejoice tonight be- 
cause whoever has it will have something good to 
read." 

At the very beginning of their home life, Edwin, 
feeling that some good religious paper ought to come 
regularly to their home, had chosen from a bundle 
of sample copies the paper he considered best suited 



DISCOVERS GOD*S CHURCH 203 

for their purpose, and for some time it had been 
making its weekly visits to their home. Since then 
it had been his custom to read aloud either from it 
or the Bible while his wife was busy about her house- 
hold duties. In this way they could talk over to- 
gether the subjects that puzzled them while these 
were still fresh in their minds. 

As Edwin's eyes fell upon the title of the new 
paper that he had just brought and found that the 
name of the paper contained three words and that 
the middle word was Gospel, he said, "Well, it at 
least has a good name, and now we'll see if it teaches 
what its title indicates." 

The heading of an article that read, "God's Word 
as Our Guide," next attracted his attention; and 
when he began reading, his wife left her partly 
prepared supper to come and look over his shoulder. 

"As trusting children of God, we naturally look 
to him for guidance; for he has said, *I will in- 
struct thee and teach thee in the way that thou shalt 
go: I will guide thee with mine eye.' When two 
paths lie before us and we know not which one to 
take, we ask God to make known to us the way that 
he would have us take. God is willing to do this. 
He is glad to have us follow where he leads." 

"That is very good," Edwin's wife remarked. 



204 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

Drawing a chair beside his own for her, Edwin 
said: 

"Never mind the supper. Sit down, and we will 
eat later." 

Then he read: "In Exod. 19:5 God says that 
his people will be a peculiar treasure unto him above 
all people. This great favor is bestowed upon all 
those who obey his voice. When we see how much 
people have cost him, we can comprehend, in a meas- 
ure, how precious we must be in his sight. Naturally 
we value anything by its cost. If this rule be ap- 
plied here, truly God must place great value upon 
his people; for he spared not his own Son, but de- 
livered him up for us all. He must therefore estimate 
our value by his Son." 

Next he read under the heading God's Church: 
"No one thing on earth is complete enough in its 
nature to fully represent the church of God. Neither 
is the human mind able to grasp singly a name that 
would express every feature of the church. For 
this reason God has made use of many relative 
names, such as kingdom, Zion, holy city, house, body 
of Christ, bride of Christ, family, sheepfold, vine 
and its branches, and other similar illustrations. 

"First, let us consider the word 'church.' It 
means a congregation of people separated from the 
world (John 15: 19). Next, God's church is char- 



DISCOVERS GOD'S CHURCH 205 

acterized by being separate from the world and all 
its evils (2 Cor. 6 : 14), and Christ is the head (Eph. 
1:22), the door (John 10: 9), the foundation 
(1 Cor. 3: 11), and the chief corner-stone (Eph. 
2: 19,20)." 

For a moment the paper dropped idly in Edwin's 
hands, for the truth of God was streaming down 
into his heart. Ever since his talk in the summer- 
kitchen with Mrs. Miller, when she said that she 
was converted at the time when she joined church 
and in answer to Edwin's question as to what the 
church was replied that the church was the little 
building where the roads met, he had felt that there 
was such a thing as "the church," but he could not 
get it settled that it was the building on the cor- 
ner, as Mrs. Miller had told him that it was. But 
whenever so situated that he could do so, he had 
continued to be a regular attendant of every religious 
service either at that place or in some adjoining com- 
munity. In his heart he felt that as the meaning of 
eternity, prayer, and conversion had been revealed 
to his entire satisfaction, God would in his own good 
time help him to discover the true meaning of the 
word "church." 

Presently he read under another heading: "The 
gospel of salvation that Christ preached penetrated 
the dark places of sin and idolatry like sun rays 



206 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

driving back the darkness of night. Wickedness in 
the hearts and lives of men gave way to grace and 
truth. Christ then established his church. True 
holiness adorned her fair brow. Unity and purity 
were her chief characteristics. Of her it is said, 
*Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee' 
(S. of Sol. 4:7). And again, 'My dove, my un- 
defined, is but one* (S. of Sol. 6:9). 'He [Christ] 
is the head of the body, the church . . . that in 
all things he might have preeminence' (Col. 1 : 18). 

"Having purchased, founded, and built the 
church, God claims exclusive right to the govern- 
ment. She is not 'our church,' but 'God's build- 
ing,' owned by God alone. All her members are 
the sons of God and bear his holy image. 'God hath 
set the members every one of them in the body, as 
it hath pleased him' (1 Cor. 12: 18), for 'ye are 
the body of Christ, and members in particular.' ' 

For a moment Edwin paused to meditate upon 
what he had read; then he continued: 

"It is God himself that assigns each member his 
place in the church, or the body of Christ, and makes 
known to him what his line of spiritual work is to 
be — 'Now ye are the body of Christ, and members 
in particular. And God hath set some in the church, 
first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, 



DISCOVERS GOD'S CHURCH 207 

after that miracles, then gifts of healing,' etc. ( 1 Cor. 
12:27,28). 

"The origin of the church is the immediate re- 
sult of conversion and is inseparable from it. *I 
pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast 
given me; for they are thine. Neither pray I for 
these alone, but for them also which shall believe 
on me through their word ; that they all may be one ; 
as thou, Father, art in me . . . that the world 
may believe that thou hast sent me' (John 17:9, 
20, 21). 'As new-born babes, desire the sincere 
milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby . . . 
ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual 
house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sac- 
rifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. But ye 
are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy 
nation, a peculiar people ; that ye should show forth 
the praises of him who hath called you out of dark- 
ness into his marvelous light: which in time past 
were not a people, but are now the people of God* 
(1 Pet. 2:2, 5, 9, 10)." 

Again Edwin paused, and as the wonderful 
beauty and completeness of God's plan concerning 
his people dawned upon his mind, his large brown 
eyes were brightened with tears of joy, and he said 
to his wife : 

"I believe I understand at last what is meant by 



208 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

*the church.' All converted souls, both dead and 
alive, and of every nation or race of people in the 
world, make up God's church, and to become a 
member of the church is to be converted, or born 
into God's family." 

"Read on," his wife said eagerly, and Edwin con- 
tinued : 

"God's people are not to forsake the assembling 
of themselves together to worship him (Heb. 10: 
25) ; *for where two or three are gathered together 
in my name there am I in the midst of them' (Matt. 
18:20). 

"It may be a mystery in the mind of some why 
we read in the Bible of churches, when God has 
but one church. A little attention to the word will 
convince any honest mind that the church of God is 
plural only in regard to its geographical location. 
The people in the different communities could not 
go up to Jerusalem in order to assemble themselves 
together in worship, for the distance in some instances 
would have been too great. Thus, it became neces- 
sary for many to form home congregations. But 
although they were often widely separated, the same 
sweet fellowship was flowing in the hearts of all, 
and God looked upon them all together as his church, 
or the body of his beloved Son. The ideaT in re- 
ferring to the church, or the divine congregation, as 



DISCOVERS GOD'S CHURCH 209 

a bride and wife in relation to Christ was to teach 
their close relationship. 'And I will betroth thee 
unto me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in 
righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kind- 
ness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto 
me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord' 
(Hosea 2: 19, 20). 'For I am jealous over you 
with godly jealousy : for I have espoused you to one 
husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin 
to Christ' (2 Cor. 11:2). 'He that hath the bride 
is the bridegroom' (John 3 : 29) . 'For thy maker is 
thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and 
thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel ; The God of 
the whole earth shall he be called' (Isa. 54: 5). 
'Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: 
for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife 
hath made herself ready. And to her was granted 
that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and 
white : for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints' 
(Rev. 19: 7, 8). Since no man can rightly have 
more than one wife, God has but one church, and 
Christ is her husband." 

"Wife," Edwin said, "this truly is wonderful. I 
see it all clearly now. God has had a purpose in 
keeping me from joining the little church on the cor- 
ner, for I was already born into God's church when 
I was converted. He understood my ignorance; 



210 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

and although they have long since changed their 
minds concerning me, the ten years that I requested 
to prove my sincerity have shielded me from making 
a mistake, and my name has long ago been enrolled 
in heaven." 

As they continued to glance over the pages of 
the paper, they came to a large advertisement of a 
camp-meeting to be held in an adjoining State. After 
reading the urgent invitation to all who could to 
come to the spiritual feast, Edwin said that he would 
like very much to attend that meeting. It was im- 
possible for them to both leave at the same time, but 
Edwin's wife urged him to go while she remained 
to take care of things at home. 

Before retiring that night Edwin told his com- 
panion about the first camp-meeting that he ever 
attended. "I know," he said, "that I was looked 
upon by many as a lunatic, but I'm glad that God 
realized and understood all about the difficulties 
that had surrounded my early life. And, Wife, if 
I had it all to do over again, I could never know 
more perfectly how to consecrate myself to God and 
to realize the completeness of his love within my 
heart." And thus their talk continued long into the 
night. Their supper had been forgotten, for they 
were feasting on heavenly manna. 

When the time for the meeting arrived, Edwin 



DISCOVERS GOD'S CHURCH 211 

bade his wife farewell at the station; and as it was 
but a few hours' ride, he was soon at his destination. 
His general appearance as well as his understand- 
ing of the three languages helped him to make a far 
better impression than he had made at the time of 
him conversion, but his same innocence regarding 
sinful pleasures was still very noticeable. From his 
earliest recollections in the poorhouse his desire to 
do right for principle's sake had never left him. This 
desire and God's wonderful protection had guarded 
him against many evils that might in later years have 
entangled his feet and obstructed his pathway. 

What he saw and heard in the meeting was in 
such harmony with all that God had taught him 
and with what he had read in the Bible that he said, 
"Of a truth I have found God's church, and his 
people shall henceforth be my people." 

He was still of the same humble, teachable spirit, 
and when he returned to his home, he carried many 
rich morsels of truth to his loving and faithful wife. 

"One God and Father of all, who is above all, 
and through all, and in you all" (Eph. 4:6). "He 
will guide you into all truth" (John 16: 13). 



212 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

CHAPTER XXII 
Visits the Poorhouse 

I am not old — though time has set 

His signet on my brow, 
And some faint furrows there have met, 

Which care may deepen now — 
For in my heart a fountain flows, 

And round it pleasant thoughts repose, 
And sympathies and feelings high 

Spring like the stars on evening sky. 

— Benjamin. 

It was evening in the late summer, and Edwin 
was sitting upon the porch. He had been reading, 
but the paper had fallen carelessly by his side. In 
the western sky the beautiful tints of gold were rap- 
idly changing to the deeper shades of lavender and 
crimson, and as he gazed upward among the drift- 
ing clouds he seemed lost to his earthly surroundings. 
So enraptured and carried away with his medita- 
tion had he become that he did not notice the ap- 
proach of his faithful wife as she came to take her 
place beside him. 

"Edwin, your thoughts tonight seem to be very 
far away indeed,'* she said. "I hope that you are 
thinking of things that are pleasant." 



VISITS THE POORHOUSE 213 

With a smile and a word of welcome, Edwin 
awoke from his reverie and said : 

"Yes, Wife, my thoughts were pleasant. In 
imagination I was living over again some of my early 
experiences." 

"If that is the case, my dear, I greatly fear that 
a part of your thoughts were not as cheerful as they 
might have been," his wife said as her chair was 
drawn closer. Taking the hand that was scarred 
and disfigured in several places by abuse in his 
childhood, she continued : "I fear that many things 
concerning your childhood would be very hard in- 
deed if you were forced to live them over again even 
in thought." 

"Yes, Wife, that is true. There were many hard 
and bitter things, which are indeed painful to recall, 
especially those pertaining to my mother. To know 
that she has left this life without any hope for the 
future world, feeling that such was unnecessary, is 
hard, but it was not of her nor of her attitude toward 
me that I was thinking altogether. I was meditat- 
ing upon my life as a whole. You see, more than 
fifty summers and winters have passed since I left 
the poorhouse in my boyhood days, and I have 
passed well over the best part of my life. I am now 
on the downward slope of life's mountain of years, 



214 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

and it will not be long until I shall be entering the 
valley of the shadow of death." 

The soft fingers of the gentle wife closed more 
tightly over the hand they held, as she said : 

"Yes, dear, neither of us is young any more, for 
the silvery threads are already in our hair; but 
whether our years on earth are few or many, I be- 
lieve that we both are ready to enter into the pres- 
ence of our Lord at any moment that he should call 
for us." 

"I have no fears on those lines, Wife," Edwin 
said, while his eyes were still upon the beautiful 
horizon; "for I have the sweet assurance within my 
soul that I am a child of God and that I am on the 
road that leads to eternal bliss and glory for all who 
are faithful unto the end. But this evening as I sat 
here gazing upon the beautiful handiwork of God, 
I wondered what could be awaiting us in that bright- 
er and better world beyond the grave." 

"That is not for us to know now, Edwin, but some 
day the curtain will be drawn aside, and I am sure 
that the scene will be all the brighter for our having 
had to await God's time to reveal to us the mysteries 
that he has for a time thought best to veil." 

The silence that followed seemed too sacred to 
be broken, and the gathering darkness crept slowly 



VISITS THE POORHOUSE 215 

about them. When the last shade of crimson had 
left the sky, Edwin said: 

"I have been thinking of the many good things 
that have come to me in this life, and the manner 
in which they have come. It seems that God's hand 
has been over me ever since I can remember, and as 
I look back now I can see that God has always been 
my guide ever since I chose to do the right because 
it was right to do it, and that even in my extreme 
ignorance, when I knew nothing of God's existence, 
he guided my steps and enabled me to live a life 
that was upright and consistent in the eyes of the 
world. Then, when I had no earthly friend who 
was able to unfold the mysteries of the future world 
to my entire satisfaction, he became my teacher and 
taught me how to be born into his heavenly family. 
Surely it was only through his divine protection that 
I have been brought through all my perplexities to 
the present time. Then as I was thinking about my 
childhood home at the poorhouse, a great desire to 
visit the place again crept into my heart. It seems 
to me that it would be a comfort to stand once more 
upon the same ground and to see the scenes that I 
beheld at the time when I was a helpless waif." 

"Fifty years, Edwin, have probably made many 
changes, and nothing would seem the same to you 



216 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

now. It could not be as it was when you were a 
child." 

"That may all be true,'* Edwin replied, "and 
yet the more I think about it, the greater becomes my 
desire to go and visit the place again. If you could 
give your consent, I should be glad to go at once." 

"That you certainly have," his wife said ear- 
nestly, adding, "I will gladly do all in my power, 
Edwin, to help you to prepare for the journey." 

Three days later Edwin kissed his wife good-by 
and with his handbag in his hand started for the 
railway station. After boarding the train he had a 
long and tiresome journey, but at last it was at an 
end. Alighting from the train, he stood for a mo- 
ment upon the platform, trying to think which way 
to go. Noticing a man standing near, Edwin in- 
quired the way to the poorhouse, and finding that 
the distance was not too great to walk, he was soon 
wending his way in that direction. 

In that section of the country the land was quite 
level, and long before Edwin reached the place, he 
could see the large brick building that during his stay 
there was the quarters of the vicious and insane. He 
wondered if it was still used for the same purpose 
and if the same sights and sounds could be seen and 
heard. In a little while he was in front of the place 
that was his home half a century before. 



VISITS THE POORHOUSE 217 

Leaving the highway, he passed through the open 
gateway, and a picture of his uncle in the buggy 
with the little forlorn poorhouse waif sitting beside 
him arose in his mind. Looking about, he wondered 
if either Mr. Engler or the chore-boy Jim were in 
sight; but he was not long in discovering that a new 
manager (or "steward*' as he was called) by the 
name of Blohm had taken Mr. Engler's place and 
that no one could tell him the whereabouts of Jim. 
He was beginning to realize that what his wife had 
said concerning the changes of fifty years was true, 
but the greatest surprize was before him. 

The room in which he had been left by his heart- 
less mother was still fresh in his memory as he had 
left it to go to his mother's home. When a moment 
later he stepped inside the up-to-date office that was 
in the main building, he could scarcely believe that 
the apartment was the same that he had known years 
before. Nothing, not even the couch upon which 
the cruel-hearted woman had laid her helpless babe, 
was there, for all the furniture was bright and new. 

Here he met Mr. Blohm, and after introducing 
himself as one who had formerly been an inmate of 
the home, and relating some of the Lord's dealings 
with him, he told a little about his checkered experi- 
ences and ended the story by telling of his divine 
commission to preach the gospel. After all this 



218 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

explanation he was shown every possible favor and 
looked upon as an honorable guest. In fact, he was 
taken by Mr. Blohm himself all over the establish- 
ment. 

A few of the inmates whom Edwin had known in 
his childhood were still living, and although they 
were greatly changed in appearance, he recognized 
them as the same persons. When he passed through 
the long hall, he thought of the time that he had fol- 
lowed Mr. Engler on his way to meet his uncle in 
the office, and he took a special look at the very spot 
where he was standing when the steward gave him 
the order to come. 

Passing outside, he was told to examine a large 
marble stone that had been placed in the side of 
the building, and he found that all the names of 
the different managers, including August Engler's, 
were there. In another large building he found the 
bakery, and in this busy place the greater part of 
the cooking was still done. As he passed through 
the large double doors that divided the two apart- 
ments, everything seemed for a moment as it had been 
fifty years before, for just outside he could see the 
spot where he with other children had stood looking 
down into the bakery hoping to receive from some 
one a crust of bread or a stale biscuit. 

At dinner-time he was conducted into the large 



VISITS THE POORHOUSE 219 

dining-room. There he found many tables neatly 
spread with food that was good and wholesome, and 
it was plain to be seen that the needs of all had been 
taken into consideration. One special table had 
been assigned to the management and special work- 
ers, and it was there that Edwin was offered the seat 
of honor. It is needless to say that he greatly en- 
joyed the good, substantial meal, for he was very 
hungry after all his exertions. 

After dinner he continued his investigations, and 
as he went about from place to place, he seemed to 
be living over again a part of the past. He recog- 
nized the place in which the old lady had taught 
him the words, "Now I lay me down to sleep," 
and as he remembered the comfort that he had real- 
ized while repeating them, his heart throbbed with 
gratitude to the One who knew and understood his 
childish desire to live right. At night he was shown 
to a clean and comfortable bed, and there he fell 
asleep with the past as a sacred dream. 

In the morning Edwin arose feeling greatly re- 
freshed and ready to enjoy another day in the 
county poorhouse, but before noon he reentered the 
main office and wrote a letter home to his beloved 
wife. It read: 

"Dear Wife: Greeting in Jesus* name. I am 
sure that you will be anxious to hear from me and of 



220 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

my eventful journey. To me this has been a won- 
derful experience, and although it is true that every- 
thing is greatly changed, there are certain associa- 
tions with every place that bring a flood of remem- 
brances. The changes are principally in the peo- 
ple, however, and their manner of living, for very 
few buildings have been added or torn away. 

"From the window where I am sitting I can see 
the old well where we children used to pump the 
cold water on our dry bread. I can also see the 
path leading down to the large turnip-patch, and as 
I watch the waving tops, I can imagine myself a 
child again eating the round white balls, dirt and 
all. I have also taken a stroll about the yard and 
stood upon the very spot where I used to stand when 
watching the queer actions of the insane and listen- 
ing to their horrible sayings. The large brick build- 
ing for the insane of which I have told you in the 
past is still as I remember it, except that it is no 
longer needed for the insane and the gratings from 
the doors and windows have all been removed. That 
part of the work is taken care of by the State asylum, 
and this building is now used for the weak and fee- 
ble-minded women. There is also another building 
where the men of this class are cared for by special 
workers. 

"When it became known that a former inmate of 



VISITS THE POORHOUSE 221 

the infirmary was a Christian and a minister of the 
gospel, it was considered a great honor to the estab- 
lishment, and I have been requested to take charge 
of the morning service in the chapel next Sunday. 
I have already had the privilege of explaining some 
verses to a few, and some who knew of my early 
disadvantages confess with shame their own lack and 
wish for an experience like mine. 

"Do pray for me that I may be the greatest 
blessing possible while I am here, and with the prayer 
that God will bless and keep you until we meet 
again, I will close." 

That Edwin's visit at the poorhouse was profit- 
able, both to himself and to others, it is needless to 
say. On Sunday he preached to a large audience, 
and he was privileged also to visit and pray for many 
who were unable to meet in the chapel. Thus, he 
who was once a poor waif in this institution was en- 
abled to be a help and a blessing to those who were 
still unfortunate. 

On Edwin's return home, he and his wife were 
in the cozy living-room until a late hour talking over 
the events of the past few days. Before retiring 
he reached for the Bible, and after he had read a 
chapter, they knelt together in prayer. In earnest, 
fervent supplication and praise he opened his heart 
to the One to whom he was so greatly indebted. 



222 THE POORHOUSE WAIF 

"O Lord," he prayed, "thou hast been so merciful 
to me all my days! Thy hand of love and protec- 
tion hath been over me wherever I have been. Thine 
eye hath guided my feet past many pitfalls that I 
could not see. In my weakness thou hast been my 
strength. In my ignorance thou hast been my wis- 
dom and teacher. When friends forsook me thou 
wast mindful of my needs. When others misun- 
derstood thou hast been my Comforter. To thee, O 
God, I render thanks for all thy benefits, for thy 
saving and keeping grace that hath reached even 
to one so unfortunate as I. And now, O Lord, 
grant that all the remainder of my days, be they 
few or many, may be spent for thee and for others 
who have not yet learned to love thee and to know 
of thy great goodness. To thee we commit our- 
selves for the night and place our hands in thine for 
future service, knowing that when our work on earth 
is ended, thou wilt gather us home to live among the 
faithful forever. Amen." 

There is little else to say of Edwin's life except 
that his determination is still on the increase to help 
men and women to understand their need of a Sa- 
vior and to instruct them in the ways of the Lord. 
As we draw the curtain over the life of the unfor- 
tunate poorhouse waif, we should not rejoice alone 
because he has been able to rise above his difficulties 



VISITS THE POORHOUSE 223 

but also because his divine Teacher will instruct all 
who will be taught. 

"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family 
in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant 
you, according to the riches of his glory, to be 
strengthened with might by the Spirit in the inner 
man ; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith ; 
that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may 
be able to comprehend with all saints what is the 
breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to 
know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, 
that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abun- 
dantly above all that we ask or think, according to 
the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in 
the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world 
without end. Amen." 

The End 



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